The Conference on Nonwovens for High-performance Applications held last week in Cannes, France, came to the optimistic conclusion regarding the future growth for high-performance nonwovens.

Although some advanced nonwovens have started to become commoditised, it is clear that growth is driven mainly by the continuous development of new areas of application and the trend for new production processes, resulting in the need for constant innovation.

Participants included raw materials, chemical suppliers, machinery manufacturers, nonwovens manufacturers, finishers including coaters and laminators, OEMs, end-users and suppliers to end-user markets. “We were very impressed with the level of attendees, and the range of organisations at this event,” said conference chair Adrian Wilson.

Current trends

Brad Kalil from INDA gave the keynote talk. He and industry expert and conference chair Adrian Wilson outlined the current trends and growth markets for engineered fabrics.

Other speakers from Tenowo, EcoTechnilin, Reicofil, Norafin, Metis Technologies, and Technical Absorbents delved deeper into specific applications areas, such as automotive, composites, medical and filtration, where technological developments and end-use requirements in materials and processes are driving growth in advanced nonwovens.

Valuable and unique

Participants declared the event a valuable and unique opportunity to co-locate different strands of the global industry together in one venue. Networking between speakers and delegates alike was easy during the conference, particularly in the exhibition area and during the conference reception at the end of the first day, organisers report.

Lively and extended discussion was enabled during the forums at the end of each of the four conference sessions.

“I really enjoyed the NHPA conference; an excellent balance between academic research and industrial innovation. I’ve come back with a few innovative ideas and made some great contacts that will help move our business forward,” said Matthew Tipper, of the Nonwovens Innovation & Research Institute Centre.

Refreshing and informative

“Truly a conference for companies that are in the business of making things or helping people making things. A refreshing and informative two days that flew by with many interesting leads to follow up on,” commented Michael Gerakios, of Metis Technologies.

Examining market, product and technology intelligence for advanced nonwovens, the four sessions consisted of Markets and Opportunities; Pioneering new applications; Game-changing technologies and Specialist applications.

Organized by International Newsletters and supported by the nonwoven trade association INDA, and Messe Frankfurt Techtextil, NHPA2015 was the second symposium in this conference series uniquely concerned with innovations and trends in high-performance nonwovens.

Further information