Nonwovens Network UK

June 29th 2001

Huddersfield Centre for Textile Excellence

FIT for tomorrow

In the first paper at the recent Nonwovens Network UK seminar held at the Huddersfield Textile Centre of Excellence, Jeff Dugan (pictured below), research vice-president for Fiber Innovation Technology, outlined the flexible strategy of this US-based company.

Traditionally, he said, fibres had been the domain of the large chemical companies, which looked to produce high volumes of specific products.

"In the last few years, FIT emerged as a new idea for what a fibre company can be, and this has provided a worldwide opportunity," he said. "If you have a $100 million fibre plant you can’t do small runs, and there are many engineering polymers not used extensively because they are more expensive or there is only limited demand for their properties."

FIT’s approach is to provide versatility in terms of the fibres it offers, in respect of their forms and cross section, along with an extensive array of bicomponent types, and also with regard to the many additives and finishes offered.

In 2000, the company ran 32 different polymers through its production lines, and made use of 163 different materials.

At the moment, FIT has around 40 million pounds of annual capacity, but is planning to expand, having further diversified its product offering this year by producing FDY, UOY and POY filament yarns as well as staple fibre in deniers of between 1-60, cut lengths of bewteen 0.25 and 6 inches and crimp of between 0-20/inch.

Mr Duggan added that while the company did not at the moment manufacture spunbond or meltblown nonwovens, it would be a logical extension of activities.

Shapes and colours

He identified shapes and colours as the two main parameters available to the fibre producer to play with, unusual cross sections manufactured including hollow, trilobal, ribbon and 4DG, the latter licensed from Clempson University, having originally been developed by Eastman. 4DG’s unusual ‘squiggle’ shape allows it to wick better than any other fibre when given a hydrophilic finish. With a hydrophobic finish, on the other hand, materials can be made to mop up oils, and without a finish can be used in electret filter materials.

This cross section in PLA fibres can be used for thermal insulation products, with the grooved zones trapping air. PLA, Mr Dugan said, was ideal for use, because very sharp cross sections are formed to allow thinner materials to be made, and commercial introductions of 4DG PLA are expected shortly.

Mr Dugan went on to say that he believed that within 10 years PLA would be one of the big three or four man-made fibres, along with polyester and polypropylene.

TPU

One example of a lesser-used engineered polymer being employed was bulked stretch yarn made from a bicomponent of nylon with TPU.

When heated, the two polymers shrink at different rates, the TPU contracting but the nylon bulking up to provide a result very similar to nylon covered spandex yarns, but much cheaper.

Carded, hydroentangled materials for filtering corrosive fluids are also being made from a bicomponent of PP and PMP (polymethylpentene), which when split apart provides an enormous surface area, and a much smaller pore size than with nylon/polyester or all-PP, with the required chemical resistance.

Mr Dugan also provided details of an all-polyester bicomponent which is being needled, moulded and thermobonded into rigid structures for use as automotive headliners.

The outer fibre has a lower melting point than the core, to allow a short moulding time and short cool down, with the required dent resistance as a result of its high crystalinity, and sag resistance because of the higher melting point of the core fibre. It is also completely recyclable.

FIT is also working on a fibre it believes will replace Nomex-type materials as a result of its much lower price. This, however, is still in the development stage.

Mr Dugan also mentioned a number of future possibilities, including smart materials dyed with thermochromic pigments to react to temperature, active fabrics consisting of bicomponents of elastomer with a slowly degrading core, biopolymers with a soluble sheath housing a microbe growth medium, and conductive fibres with electrochromic pigments to change colour in the presence of a current, and a transparent conductive core. In respect of the latter, woven fabrics could possibly contain animated logos as a result of electrodes moving the colour about.

Spunlace: Europe adds 100,000 tons in six years

The global capacity for spunlaced (hydroentangled) nonwovens reached 325,600 tons by last year, according to Dr Mohammed Chowdhury of Spunlace Technology, Coventry, UK.

Speaking at the recent Nonwovens Network UK conference in Huddersfield, he put capacity in Europe at 155,800 tons, that of North America at 100,500 tons and Japanese production at 35,400 tons, with China now having 19,900 tons of capacity and 14,000 additional tons in the rest of the world.

Since 1994, over 100,00 tons of capacity has been added in Europe, while back then, it was non-esistent in China. Growth elsewhere has been less dramatic.

While the major players remain DuPont and PGI, with lines on both sides of the Atlantic, they are being followed mainly by European companies including JW Suominen of Finland, Italy’s Orlandi and Orsa, Jacob Holm in France and Ahlstrom’s Dexter operations in the UK.

Orlandi’s current expansion plans will push it into second place globally, probably by the end of the year.

While these capacities are in place, however, the estimated actual production of spunlace products was only 243,000 tons last year, implying some 82,500 tons of under-utilisation.

This compares to 74,000 tons of capacity not used in 1999, and back in 1994, only 41,400 tons.

Dr Chowdhury put this down to the steep learning curve involved in the spunlace process route, and while this is certainly true, it also tends to suggest that new markets for spunlaced nonwovens are being serviced as quickly as they are being discovered.

The market for wipes has grown by 20% per year since 1994, that of gauze replacement by 15%, and spunlace in industrial applications by 19%. This compares to respective figures in Europe of 21%, 18% and 15%, while in medical packs and gowns, growth in Europe was 19% over the period, compared to just 6% in North America, so it appears there is still growth to be had in Europe in these fields.

Most intriguing, however, from Dr Chowdhury’s statistics was the figure for ‘other products’ in North America, which accounted for just 1, 000 tons in 1996, and still only 6,000 tons in 2000, yet growth per year was said to be 43%, compared to just 18% in Europe.

This suggests there are still niches out there to be exploited.

Development dos’ and dont’s

Roger Tatersall of Lantor profiled his company’s approach to new product development, providing a list of ‘do’s’ and ‘dont’s’ which have been established across many industries over the past 50 years.

The ‘13 Steps’ refer to the many stages a product goes through before reaching the market and are as follows:

1. Ideas generation and initial screening

2. Preliminary market assessment

3. Preliminary technical assessment

4. Detailed market study/research

5. Business financial analysis

6. Product development (Lab and production)

7. In-house prototype and testing

8. Customer testing

9. Test market/trial sell

10. Trial full-scale production

11. Pre-commercialisation analysis

12. Production hand-over/start-up

13. Market launch of product

Mr Tattersall’s thought-provoking talk emphasised the need for constant innovation in manufacturing.

Added value finishing

Geoff Hollings (left), chairman of Partners in Textile Innovations, brought a vast array of materials over from the US to the recent Nonwovens Network UK conference in Huddersfield, in order to demonstrate the endless possibilities of adding value to products through finishing techniques.

He said that while most of the actual development work his company had done was with knitted or woven materials, there was no reason why the basic principle shouldn’t apply to nonwovens.

"Basically what we are doing is taking the most inexpensive fabrics and moving them up in price categories, so that what we buy in at between 75 cents and a dollar a yard, is being sold at five dollars a yard," he said. "We are processing some 20 million yards of fabric a year in this way and have been very successful in moving new fabrics into old areas."

The company’s programme consists of endless permutations on crush finishing, pleating, heat setting, calender embossing or laminating and digital printing, and Mr Hollings coincidentally gave a plug to the machine range of Holland’s Klieverik – an exhibitor at the show – in helping it achieve its goals. Partners in Innovation runs a 140-inch wide Klieverik calender system for lamination and embossing.

A number of examples of how nonwovens have penetrated certain markets were given, including hard window coverings, where a successful Freudenberg product which is crushed, laminated, dyed or printed and pleated to make window blinds has totally taken over from woven materials in the USA, and command a higher product value.

"Some markets are still ripe for nonwovens to enter," he said, "such as that for soft window coverings – a $4 billion a year market including such products as drapes, curtains, valances and voiles – which at the moment is almost entirely woven. With some products and finishing it is certainly possible to make inroads."

One barrier in the past, he added, has been conventional screen printing machines which were unable to adequately control lighter webs, but there is no such problem with modern digital printing.

Another market touched upon was that of mattress tickings which had once been stitchbonded nonwovens, but were now mainly trico knits. New embossed and printed nonwovens, however, could, Mr Hollings said, overtake them in this field.

Lamination possibilities are also endless, and High Street retailers in the US such as Sears and JC Penney are stocking combinations of nonwovens and wovens in very decorative curtain materials. The demand was put at between 400-500,000 yards a year

Getting to more specific niches, a contract was mentioned for the covering of gaming tables in Las Vegas. A table out of operation for 12 hours at a Vegas casino loses an estimated average of $20,000 dollars and in the past needed to be covered every two-and-a-half weeks. The product replacement – a brushed nonwoven laminated to an aluminium heat shield lasts over two months by comparison.

Mr Hollings also drew attention to the tremendous growth in the wipes area, particularly in the USA, noting some of the more esoteric offerings, such as the ‘Bath in a Bag’ product – 100% cotton nonwoven products impregnated with germicide. He had even come across a specific wipe for relieving jellyfish stings.

"All that is being sold is a pad, dipped and packaged, but these products are selling well," he said. "In addition, Alexander Drew’s microencapsulated materials are getting a lot of people excited in the USA and the possibilities are endless, from germicides in shower curtains through aromatherapy and scents to odour absorbing materials for the hotels and hospitality industries."

In the US, he added, the large hotel chains such as Hyatt, Hilton and Holiday Inn were eagerly awaiting drapes and soft furnishings capable of absorbing tobacco odours.

"At the moment, all work in this field is with woven products, but there seems absolutely no reason why nonwovens shouldn’t enter it," he concluded.