Arkema, headquartered in Colombes, France, has joined more than 50 industry-leading organisations as a member of the Nonwovens Institute (NWI).

Based at the Centennial Campus of North Carolina State University, NWI is a consortium of stakeholders spanning the nonwovens value chain. Operating on an open innovation platform and covering the full technology readiness level (TRL) range of R&D activities, NWI engages industry, government and academia to enable next-generation nonwoven solutions to solve mission-critical challenges.

With four complementary business segments – Adhesive Solutions, Advanced Materials, Coating Solutions and Intermediates –Arkema has 21,100 employees and operates in some 55 countries around the world. Its sustainable solutions for the textile industry include Rilsan polyamides, Pebax elastomers, Platamid copolyamides, Kynar PVDF and Kepstan PEKK. These high-performance polymers are used in meltblown media, electrospun membranes, spunbond media and both monofilament and multifilament fibres.

Arkema is also a supplier of material solutions derived from renewable castor beans, including Rilsan PA11, Pebax Rnew elastomers and Platamid Rnew hot melt adhesives, as well as superabsorbent polymers (SAPs) made from acrylic acid monomer.

In addition to polymers, Arkema also offers complementary solutions tailored for nonwovens. Bostik Global is an Arkema company and a leader in the production of adhesives used in the construction of personal care and hygiene articles, especially where softness is critical to consumer preference. Bostik’s adhesive requires just 2-3 grams of solution to assemble the 20 or so components making up a disposable baby diaper.

www.arkema.com

www.thenonwovensinstitute.com