INDA, the Association for the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, has announced the three finalists of the 2018 RISE Innovation Award.
The prize forms part of the annual Research, Innovation & Science for Engineered Fabrics (RISE) conference, which brings together technical professionals from across the nonwovens industry to discuss its latest trends, challenges and opportunities.
The three finalists of the RISE Innovation Award 2018
This year, the event will take place at the Marriott City Center in Raleigh, NC, US, on 11-13 September, and will feature its usual broad range of expert seminars, poster presentations and networking opportunities.
According to INDA, the annual Innovation Award recognises innovation within and on the periphery of the nonwovens industry that creatively uses advanced science and engineering principles to solve challenges within the nonwovens and engineered fabrics industry.
“Nominees were selected from a number of disposable and durable product categories and disruptive enabling technologies who exemplify innovation,” INDA states. “Areas of consideration also include: raw material advances, advances n process or manufacturing technologies including web forming and converting, new product or application development, or other areas that may extend or enhance the use of nonwovens.”
The three finalists for this year’s award were selected by a panel of industry technical experts and members of INDA’s technical advisory board, and include:
• DiviDiaper – the DiviDiaper was developed by parents of a child requiring multiple surgeries and contains an inside divider to separate its liquid and solid contents. Its manufacturer, DiviDiaper Inc, also states that the diaper contains a reinforced hole in the middle where a catheter can easily be withdrawn. According to the company, the product is claimed to help reduce urinary tract infections, catheter and associated infections, and pressure sores.
• Evolon New Generation – Bedding application – according to Freudenberg Performance Materials, its Evolon New Generation is a new line of high-tech textiles made from super-microfilaments for use in bed linen. The company states that manufacturers will appreciate easy process properties including bed non-fraying edges that cause hemming to become unnecessary. Meanwhile, Evolon New Generation’s primary bedding applications are said to include anti-mite encasements, down-proof linen, duvet covers, fibre-filled products and pillowcases.
• Suominen Intelligent Nonwovens – Finnish nonwovens manufacturer Suominen has been able to embed digital features within its nonwovens in order to guarantee product traceability and safety. According to the company, the technology utilises high-definition patterning that is readable by an average smartphone. Suominen states that the traceability aspect of its Intelligent Nonwovens also serves as a new marketing tool.
Last year's RISE conference welcomed more than 140 delegates to Raleigh, NC, US
Suominen Intelligent Nonwovens is based on the company’s technical capability to produce high-definition patterning which are machine-readable by any conventional smartphone, allowing for any digital content to be activated.
Last year’s Innovation Award was won by Club Coffee LP for its PurPod100 Compostable Pods. The company states that these pods are 100% compostable for use in the single-serve coffee process.
Conference highlights
INDA has highlighted a number of key areas that will contribute to the theme of the conference. Emerging trends such as biomimetics in nonwovens, lightweighting in the automotive industry, battery separator developments and electrospinning nanotechnology are all set to feature heavily in the conference hall.
According to INDA, RISE 2018 will provide “cutting-edge sessions on game-changing innovations, market developments, new applications and major research trends.” The conference will also feature presentations from postgraduate doctoral degree students from the Nonwovens Institute at North Carolina State University, US, during which they will present their latest research.
Last year’s RISE conference attracted more than 140 technical professionals from across the nonwovens industry, with INDA hoping that it can build on that figure in 2018.
For more information on RISE 2018, visit: www.inda.org
