Features

Safety concerns have led to the recent grounding of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner fleet and focused media attention on lithium–ion battery technology. Adrian Wilson investigates the role nonwovens play in such devices.

Niki Tait learns from various key suppliers about the importance of the correct selection of a sewing machine needle, and how this choice can significantly improve the quality and productivity of sewn technical textiles.

To mark the forthcoming 21st anniversary of Technical Textiles International, first published in May 1992, Adrian Wilson looks back at the state of the nonwovens industry in the early 1990s and assesses the key developments of the intervening years.

John McCurry writes that the first two decades in the life of Technical Textiles International have been a period of considerable change for the North American industry: just as production of commodity textiles has nearly disappeared from the continent over the past 20 years, the technical sector has emerged as a dominant force.

Textile coaters and laminators have adapted well to the many challenges the industry has faced since the early 1990s, writes Ian Holme, but there are more challenges to come and companies must still be prepared to innovate.

Niki Tait talked to Nabila Ben Romdhane of the Ben Arous-based Textile Technical Centre to learn about the industry in Tunisia, and how the country’s transition towards democracy offers great opportunities for foreign investors.

Clinical trials of textile surfaces treated with an antimicrobial agent have shown the technology to be effective in real-life conditions and that it could play an important part in the battle against nosocomial infections, according to Alain Langerock.

Sophisticated sewing threads must be developed to meet the needs of a broad range of applications for technical textiles. Niki Tait looks at how manufacturers are responding to this challenge and describes some of the special threads now available.

Lighter weights, engineered performance, and the use of natural and sustainable raw materials are just some of the advantages nonwovens provide when used for packaging, an application with great potential, according to Adrian Wilson.

Unifi has developed proprietary processes and techniques to recycle waste and convert it into a first-quality fibre. The company’s Meredith Boyd discusses what has been learned from the challenges of handling and processing these materials.