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Business and industry

SCA launches European 'efficiency projects' for baby diaper production

1 May 2010
Sweden-based SCA is to close its personal care factory in Linselles, France, by mid-2011, affecting around 280 employees.
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Fibertex expands nonwovens capacity for Asian hygiene market

1 April 2010
The Personal Care division of Fibertex, the Aalborg, Denmark-based manufacturer of nonwovens, is expanding its capacity in Asia with a new production line at its plant in Malaysia.
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Kinetic Concepts wins patent case against Smith & Nephew

1 April 2010
A US District Court jury has found that a negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) product marketed and sold by Smith & Nephew infringes two patents owned by Wake Forest University Health Sciences,
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Tredegar Film Products builds new production plant in India

1 April 2010
Tredegar Film Products has commenced building a new manufacturing plant near Pune, India.
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Fiberweb and Chisso explore feasibility of joint venture in China

1 April 2010
UK-based nonwovens producer Fiberweb is studying the feasibility of establishing a spunbond nonwovens joint venture (JV) company in China in partnership with Japan-based Chisso, a manufacturer of chem
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Polymer Group make two appointments in Europe

1 March 2010
Nonwovens producer Polymer Group (PGI) has announced two new appointments in Europe.
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Fibre glass demand returns for PPG plant

1 March 2010
PPG Industries - a manufacturer of speciality materials with headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA - has restarted a furnace for making fibre glass at its facility in Lexington, North Carolina
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TenCate's UK armour acquisition

1 March 2010
Royal Ten Cate of The Netherlands will acquire AML UK--an armour company based in Swindon, UK, which generates sales of about GBP10 million a year.
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Lenzing boosts capacity in Asia

1 March 2010
Lenzing Subsidiary PT South Pacific Viscose (SPV), located in Purwakarta, has begun its first trials on a new fourth production line.
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Glatfelter to buy airlaid nonwovens manufacturer Concert

1 March 2010
Glatfelter has completed its acquisition of Concert Industries from Brookfield Special Situations Management--a venture capital firm with offices in Brazil, Canada, the UK and the USA.
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Polymer Group invests in installations in China and the USA

1 February 2010
Polymer Group Inc (PGI) has announced plans to install state-of-the-art, custom-designed, spunmelt machinery in the USA and China.
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Elmarco forms alliances

1 February 2010
Elmarco and the National University of Singapore have begun work on joint projects aimed at the industrialization of products made with novel nano-scale materials.
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Nano-Tex targets China

1 February 2010
Nano-Tex is to open a state-of-the-art research and development (R&D) centre in China.
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SCA to invest in personal care products in Russia

1 February 2010
To meet anticipated consumer demand, SCA is to invest in a new production line for incontinence care products at its plant in Veniov in the Tula district, Russia.
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Winner Medical opens PurCotton pilot stores in Shenzhen, China

1 February 2010
Winner Medical Group, a leading Chinese manufacturer and exporter of medical, wound care and home care products, has opened its first three PurCotton chain stores in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, Chin
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Derma Sciences obtains exclusive worldwide rights to Medihoney

1 February 2010
Derma Sciences has obtained exclusive worldwide licensing rights from Comvita New Zealand to the Medihoney range of professional wound care and skin care products.
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Rieter sells nonwovens activities

1 January 2010
On 11 December 2009 Rieter signed a contract with the international technology group Andritz, based in Graz, Austria, for the sale of the French company Rieter Perfojet SAS.
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Shalag to open nonwovens plant in North Carolina

1 January 2010
Israel-based Shalag Industries is to open a new US$17million thermobonded nonwovens plant in Oxford, Granville County, North Carolina, USA.
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Prestige Ameritech reopening former surgical mask factory

1 January 2010
Prestige Ameritech is turning a vacant, former Kimberly-Clark surgical mask factory into a Global Pandemic Preparedness and Response Center.
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Polymer Group creates research centre in Suzhou, China

1 January 2010
Polymer Group Inc (PGI) announced on 19 January 2010 that it is to establish a research Center of Excellence (COE) to develop nonwoven technology to make differentiated, higher performing materials fo
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NanoHorizons expands facilities

1 December 2009
NanoHorizons Inc has consolidated its corporate offices, manufacturing operations, and laboratories in a new facility in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, USA.
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Oerlikon divests Enka Tecnica to management buyout

1 December 2009
Oerlikon Textile has sold Oerlikon Enka Tecnica to Uwe Gaedike Beteiligung GmbH of Bonn, Germany.
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Teijin to move production of diaper fibre to Thailand

1 December 2009
Teijin plans to shift the production of polyester staple fibre used to make diapers and sanitary products from Japan to Thailand.
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KCI announces final approval to enter Japanese market

1 December 2009
Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has granted final regulatory approval for Kinetic Concepts (KCI) to market and sell its VAC Therapy System in the country.
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SCA hygiene acquisition in Argentina

1 December 2009
SCA has acquired Algodonera Aconcagua--one of the largest players in feminine care in Argentina.
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Polymer Group acquires remaining stake in Argentinean joint venture

1 December 2009
Global nonwovens producer Polymer Group (PGI) has completed a transaction to purchase the remaining 40% stake in Dominion Nonwovens Sudamericana from its partner, Guillermo E. Kraves.
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Polymer Group acquires Spanish nonwovens business

1 December 2009
Global nonwovens producer Polymer Group (PGI) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the Barcelona, Spain-based Tesalca-Texnovo nonwovens businesses from Grupo Corinpa in a two-phase process.
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Winner Medical subsidiary wins Chinese nonwovens award

1 December 2009
Winner Medical Group, a leading manufacturer of disposable wound care and surgical products and the largest exporter by volume in the medical dressing industry in China, reports that its subsidiary Wi
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Creditors give permission for insolvent DyStar to continue to trade

1 November 2009
Following the agreement of its secured creditors, DyStar, the chemical company and global supplier of dyes, additives and services for the textile and leather processing industries, can continue to su
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Sandler invests in new plant

1 November 2009
In 2010, Sandler AG will be building a new plant at its existing premises in Schwarzenbach/Saale, Germany.
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Ahlstrom to focus on added-value

1 November 2009
Ahlstrom Corp says it will increase its focus in Asia and on added-value products following the completion of a strategy review process initiated in April this year.
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Australian court lifts temporary injunction against Smith & Nephew

1 November 2009
The Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia, Victoria District Registry, has lifted a temporary injunction in Kinetic Concepts' (KCI's) patent litigation with Smith & Nephew.
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Fibertex expands in Malaysia

1 November 2009
The Personal Care division of Denmark-based nonwovens producer Fibertex is expanding its capacity in Asia to match the continued demand in this growing market as well as to develop new products.
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FOV Fabrics to take over L. Michael's production and distribution

1 October 2009
Vertically integrated woven fabric producer FOV Fabrics of Boras, Sweden, is to take over the production and distribution of L. Michael's products from 1 February 2010. L.
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Clean room facilities part of expanded headquarters at Argotec

1 October 2009
Argotec Inc, which describes itself as one of the world's largest manufacturers of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) film and sheet, has opened a new 0.88 ha (95 000 square feet) world headquarters and
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DyStar files for insolvency

1 October 2009
Dystar textilfarben GmbH, DyStar Textilfarben GmbH & Co Deutschland KG and DyStar Holdings GmbH - global providers of dyes, auxiliaries and services for the textile and leather processing industri
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Nonwovens research laboratory adds nanofibre capabilities

1 October 2009
University of Tennessee Nonwovens Research Laboratory (UTNRL) says it has completed its commissioning experiments with a melt-blowing spinneret that produces nanofibres.
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Meltblown applications for renewable fibre

1 October 2009
Following evaluations by independent parties, NatureWorks says it can now supply two grades of its resin made from renewable resources, Ingeo, for the production of meltblown nonwovens, fabrics widely
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Moisture test

1 September 2009
Liquid moisture management Properties of Textile Fabrics - AATCC Test Method (TM) 195-2009 - is now available from AATCC.
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Teijin looks to added-value products

1 September 2009
Added-value developments such as nanofibres will take priority for Japan's Teijin, which has just announced drastic changes to the global structure of its fibres operations.
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Winner Medical signs PurCotton sales agreement in China

1 September 2009
Chinese disposable wound care and surgical medical products manufacturer Winner Medical Group has signed an agreement with an unnamed consumer products company in China to provide PurCotton rolls.
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Ahlstrom cuts back production of speciality reinforcements

1 September 2009
Having concluded negotiations with staff that it began on 1 June, Ahlstrom is to implement temporary layoffs at its plant in Karhula, Finland, so as to reduce production of speciality reinforcements a
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KCI to appeal UK court ruling revoking NPWT patent

1 September 2009
The Court of Appeal of England and Wales has revoked a patent licensed to Kinetic Concepts (KCI) from Wake Forest University.
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Truetzschler to reorganize

1 September 2009
Following its acquisition of the nonwoven machinery builder Erko Textile Machinery, the Truetzschler Group has decided to reorganize itself into three business units: Truetzschler Spinning; Truetzschl
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P2i raises $6.7 million to exploit nanocoating opportunities

1 August 2009
P2i Ltd, a UK-based pioneer in liquid-repellent nanocoating technology, says it has raised GBP4.1 million (about $6.7 million) from new and existing shareholders to support its accelerating commercial
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Argotec restructures in response to customers' needs

1 August 2009
One of the world's largest manufacturers of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) film and sheet is to restructure its business with the aim of better serving the markets for textile lamination and perform
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Australian court issues temporary injunction on sale of dressing kit

1 August 2009
The Federal Court of Australia, Victoria District Registry, has issued a temporary injunction prohibiting Smith & Nephew from selling foam dressing kits for negative pressure wound therapy in Aust
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BSN Medical to expand US facility

1 August 2009
BSN Medical's US subsidiary has announced a US$2 million expansion for its existing facility in Conover, North Carolina.
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Polymer Group to close North Little Rock manufacturing plant

1 July 2009
Polymer Group Inc (PGI) is to close its plant in North Little Rock, Arkansas, USA, consolidating certain manufacturing operations there with those at its facility in Benson, North Carolina.
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Management changes announced within Lenzing Nonwoven Fibers

1 July 2009
Wolfgang Plasser (pictured left) has been appointed Vice President Nonwoven Fibers. The former managing director Lenzing Plastics took over the Business Unit on 1 July 2009.
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