At INDEX14 in Geneva Andritz Nonwoven introduced the very latest in nonwovens production technology for a wide range of end-use applications. Sustainable Nonwovens spoke to Andritz Küsters sales director Tobias Schäfer on the eve of the show.
SNW: How was 2013 for Andritz Nonwoven?
TS: It was a very significant year for us, not just in terms of sales, but also in respect of the further integration of the companies that are now part of Andritz Nonwoven. We are becoming increasingly recognised as a full system partner and many unique lines are now possible through the establishment of our comprehensive nonwovens platform.
SNW: And in addition, you also established a number of new, state-of-the-art technical centres in 2013?
TS: During the SINCE show in Shanghai we held the grand opening of our new Wuxi plant where we now have manufacturing and sales, services, along with an R&D centre to support us in Asia that is on par with our sites in Europe. It’s equipped with 2.5-metre-wide neXline needlepunch pilot line consisting of an aXcess card, a crosslapper and a pre-needler to demonstrate the capability of these machines at full speed. An industrial standard needleloom is currently being manufactured in Wuxi that will be integrated into the pilot line.
In Europe we moved from Tourcoing to Elbeuf in France, where we have a complete line for crosslapped, needlepunched nonwovens and at Monbonnot the complete hydroentanglement line there has been equipped with the latest TT card, which required a significant upgrade to the entire line. We are now reaching speeds of 300 metres per minute in a working plant on industrial scale. In the pilot line, even higher speeds can be achieved. At Krefeld in Germany too, there have been significant investments in an injector for the neXline wetlaid machine in order to further develop the wetlace process.
So in 2014 we have four very well-equipped technical centres.