Technical Fibre Products (TFP), a leading nonwoven manufacturer, celebrated the formal opening of a third manufacturing line, doubling production capacity in response to increasing demand for TFP’s innovative nonwovens across all markets.

Sir James Cropper, Honorary President of TFP’s parent company James Cropper PLC, formally opened the new nonwoven production line on 16 September, alongside Martin Thompson, Managing Director of TFP.

The opening ceremony was part of a day long celebration event to mark both the expansion of the TFP business and a landmark 170 years of manufacturing for James Cropper PLC.

Increase in capacity

“James Cropper PLC develops progressive, ideas-based companies with international reach and we proudly share our history as well as leading in our respective fields. TFP’s new production line delivers a stepwise increase in capacity for the business,” said Martin Thompson, Managing Director of TFP.

“It is a necessary step to meet rapidly increasing demand and facilitate delivery of the company’s successful growth strategy. The opening of the new line is just the latest exciting step in an accelerated programme of capacity and capability improvements for the company; these have included the development and installation of the world’s first commercial nanocoating facility in Schenectady, US.”

Significant investment

The state of the art new line doubles TFP’s production capacity and represents a significant investment in the expansion of the business, the company reports. The line is based on the current proprietary wet-laid technology, but is engineered to extend production capability beyond previous constraints by increasing production width to over two metres, enabling TFP to access new markets.

TFP’s advanced nonwovens are exported worldwide and these highly specialised materials provide innovative solutions across a number of growth industries. Applications range from enabling the thermal management of the ESA satellite GAIA to playing a crucial role in facilitating the light weighting of the latest generation of commercial and defence aircraft.

Nonwovens for technical applications

TFP has been specialising in developing nonwovens for highly technical and challenging applications for over 25 years. The wet-laid technology used to produce these materials is unique, adapted from the papermaking processes used by James Cropper PLC for 170 years to manufacture luxury papers.

The unique flexibility of this process and quality of fibre dispersion in the finished product makes TFP a leader in the advanced nonwovens market; enabling the broadest range of advanced nonwovens in the world from weights as low 2g/m², according to the manufacturer.

Typical applications for TFP’s materials include delivering a high quality and functional surface finish in composites, passive fire protection and high temperature thermal insulation, as well as offering solutions for cryogenic storage and power generation.

www.tfpglobal.com