Features

The creator of a novel odour-capturing molecule and the developer of a process for impregnating textiles with dry powders have joined forces to create nonwoven dressings that have been proven to reduce malodours from chronic wounds. Editor James Bakewell caught-up with those involved to find-out more. 

When JEC World returns to Paris, France, on 3–5 May 2022, the theme of the show will be “composites for a sustainable world”. Editor James Bakewell describes a number of technologies for reducing the environmental impact of the production of textile-based reinforcements for composites that can be found on the show floor. 

The combination of the human coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic and the introduction of the Single-Use Plastics Directive (SUPD) in Europe created unprecedented challenges for manufacturers of nonwoven wipes in 2021. Nonwovens Editor, Adrian Wilson, reports on the development of some potential solutions to these problems. 

Chair Adrian Wilson reports from the Smart Nonwovens seminar on how the functionality of engineered nonwovens continues to expand.

The staging of virtual conferences and the first in-person exhibitions in recent months has provided the industry with much-needed opportunities to talk about the way forward as it looks to recover from the pandemic. In debates, several key topics have emerged, but the need to make substantive progress towards sustainable manufacturing clearly overshadows them all, writes Adrian Wilson.

Following two postponements, Index 2020 is finally set to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, and online on 19–22 October 2021. Editor Nick Butler rounds-up some of the highlights to expect at the exhibition.

Consumer disapproval and pending legislation are piling pressure on the synthetic fibres industry to change its ways, according to Adrian Wilson.

With or without an internal combustion engine, future vehicles will need tailored packages for noise, vibration and temperature control. As a result, major suppliers of textiles and nonwovens to the automotive industry remain optimistic, reports Adrian Wilson.

The first major exhibition for the industry since the onset of the covid-19 pandemic is scheduled to take place in June 2021 in Shanghai, China. Editor Nick Butler selects some highlights among the exhibits at ITMA Asia + CITME and assesses the mood among the leading machinery builders.

Thousands of ageing composite wind-turbine blades are being removed from steel towers around the world and many have nowhere to go but landfill. Composites Editor James Bakewell reports on efforts to develop methods for recycling these colossal structures that capture the most value from the glass-fibre textiles used to reinforce them.