Arvell technology developed by Italy’s Teknoweb is being promoted as a cost-effective alternative to spunlacing for the production of wipes substrates and other nonwovens.

Teknoweb has just sold the first commercial Arvell line to a Polish wipes manufacturer and is now busy with plans to open an R&D centre in Italy to further showcase the technology.

At this week’s Insight conference in St Petersburgh, Florida, Carmine Cimini explained that the development of Arvell has led to a complete repositioning of the company, which following its formation in 2004 has installed over 150 wipes converting machines worldwide.

A wet wipes substrate, Cimini said, currently accounts for between 65-70% of costs for a wipes converter and Arvell has been developed in order to drive this cost down with an acceptable alternative.

The patented technology involves simultaneously spunbonding polypropylene and forming pulp into a single product, making it a relation to Kimberly-Clark’s heavily-patented Coform process.

The advantages of Arvell compared to spunlacing are said to be that the water management and drying steps are completely eliminated, leading to both costs savings and a shorter supply chain.