Andritz has delivered, installed, and commissioned a mechanical textile recycling line and an airlay line at Novafiber’s nonwovens production mill in Palín, Guatemala. Both have been successfully operating since December 2022.

The recycling line – the second tearing line Andritz supplied to Novafiber – processes post-industrial textile waste from Central America. The recycled fibres feed the latest Andritz Flexiloft airlay line which produces nonwoven end-products for the bedding and furniture industries. The production process ensures complete material use as a state-of-the-art edge trim recycling system returns any waste directly to the tearing and/or airlay line.

This combination of tearing and airlay lines allows Novafiber to process large amounts of post-industrial garments, controlling the supply chain from raw material to final product. In addition, it enables energy savings and a reduced carbon footprint due to the reduction of shipments.

Thanks to the excellent cooperation, commissioning was completed within a very short time.

“It has been a great pleasure to collaborate with Andritz again on a waste-to-value project,” says Novafiber CEO Jean Philippe Bernard. “Seven years ago, we launched our first textile recycling and nonwovens production project together with Andritz Laroche and our new project has also been a perfect opportunity to take advantage of the company’s technological innovations to achieve an even better fibre opening quality along with higher capacity.”

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