Features

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. 

Spray application and other water-free technologies have the potential to save the textile industry from its most wasteful processes, according to Adrian Wilson.

To reduce the risks of infection by airborne pathogens, three German companies are developing a ventilation system to remove and filter potentially harmful air from enclosed public spaces. Nick Butler spoke to Dastex’s Carsten Moschner to learn about the potential role for textiles.

From the beginnings of the current pandemic in China in late 2019 to the present, our industry has responded swiftly to provide the vital personal protective equipment (PPE) needed by frontline workers and the public. By forming partnerships, increasing production and developing new products, it has contributed significantly to help prevent the uncontrolled spread of the virus responsible. Editor Nick Butler picks the as-yet unfinished story of HeiQ’s commercialisation of a new anti-viral textile treatment as a prime example among many impressive achievements.