PLMA Show: Amsterdam – 23rd to 26th May 2005

Key Points: • Cost reduction pressures appear to have halted or even reversed the proliferation of impregnated wipes. • A shake-out of wet-wipe producers which will hurt the middle-market is anticipated. • This year's new-ideas showcase had fewer innovative products than previous shows. • The melamine foam “Magic Eraser” cleaning products were on many stands. • Soap impregnated wash mittens are proliferating (in the wake of Kandoo® mitts?) • Dual – surface make-up removal pads were on many stands. • Fluid-masking perforated thermal bond topsheets were being used on Hyga GmbH femcare products. • Probiotic tampons were shown by Ellen AB. Rostam claimed a similar development and also an FDA Approved drug-delivery applicator. • Twist-off digital tampon wraps were common. • Boots' New Tampon as made by Ontex features lengthwise expansion. • The presence of the P and G CEO aroused speculation that P and G were considering Private Label supply. Albaad ( Israel ) President Amnon Brodie complained that the wet-wipe market was suffering from oversupply. As a result fragmentation of the market has stopped and multipurpose products were returning. The big brands continued to lose share to PL however, but they would fight and a shake-out could be expected. This shake-out would hurt the mid-size converters, the small producers being able to continue making a living out of special niches. In substrates, spun-lace was now “king” and the embossed versions were essential to success. Flushability remained desirable and would be developed from 100% viscose, spunlaced and cut into smaller sizes. Air laid would not return on the back of flushability. He did not see cotton becoming any more important than it is now. In the cosmetic market, the US had flirted with dry products such as “Olay Daily Facials” which needed wetting before use, while Europe went with wet wipes. The US consumer had now decided that the wet approach was best and the dry products were in decline. Had he seen any really innovative new wipes recently? No, but packaging developments still had a way to go. For instance car wipes were now being packed in a container which looked like a soft-drink cup and could be stored in the cup-holder. Bosmat ( Israel ) Ronit Ramot (Marketing Manager) had no flushable products on display this year and commented that while the demand was there, the only safe way was to use smaller products. Converting Wet Wipes SRL ( Italy ) Federico Piccone also complained that world wide wipe prices were declining while raw material prices increased. He was having to buy products with 50% woodpulp (Orlandi, Orma) instead of viscose to keep cost down. For premium products he thought 100% cotton was the answer but cotton would not replace the viscose or pulp in the mainstream wipes. They were starting to develop flushable products for the toddler market. Dr Schumacher GmbH ( Germany ) …were displaying the “Kandoo” kiddy wash mittens which they produce for P&G and which are now on the market in the UK . They were also showing larger foaming wash mittens for adults and a glove impregnated with moisturisers for hand skin-care. Here the user was supposed to wear the gloves for 15 minutes instead of applying cream. An impregnated nonwoven face-mask which claimed to whiten the skin was said to be for sale in the Asian market. Dynamic Wipes Industries ( Israel ) …were showing a range of mitts, some with film liners so that the hand remained dry in wet cleaning. Their “Onyx” body wash spa gloves (mitts) appeared to made of the soap-impregnated high-loft wadding of the sort on show at the Noam Urim stand and claimed “gentle exfoliation, cleans, moisturises and conditions – enriched with vitamins.” They also had dual-sided make up removal pads, a laminate of coarse and fine fibre thermal bonded nonwovens, again claiming exfoliation and moisturising. Ellen AB ( Sweden ) …displayed their probiotic tampon claiming it to be the “first innovation in the area for the last 20 years”. The new Ellen tampon has added human lactobacilli – Lacto Naturel – to maintain the natural balance of the vagina. This replaces vaginal flora, normally dominated by lactic acid bacteria, which can be lost in menstruation, or destroyed by antibiotics, seminal fluid or exaggerated hygiene. The product was launched into Swedish pharmacies in 2002 and in Finland last year. It is now going International. Fischer Pharmaceuticals ( Israel ) …had, amongst a wide range of wiping products, most of which were on last year's stand, wet-wipes for bathing your cat, this time claiming to preventing the shedding of cat-hair. Flawa AG ( Switzerland ) …were showing what appeared to be make-up removal pads targeting the toddler market. Marianna Dittman explained that the colourful prints used on the pads covers were indeed targeting children, but they would be used for cleaning their bottoms, hands and faces by mothers who preffered the pad structure to a conventional wet-wipe. The colours used were food-grade and the lotions hypoallergenic. These Novace® printed pads could be customised with company logos and used as promotional products ,or printed with designs more suitable for adult users. Flawa also sell dual surface cleaning pads made from 100% cotton, one side being soap impregated. These need to be wet out before use. The edges are sealed but soft, thanks to Flawa's patented edge-seal technology. Fratelli RE ( Italy ) …showed a “Swiffer” mop with a bendy lower shaft to allow easier access to floors under furniture. Hyga GmbH ( Germany ) …were showing a range of femcare developments: Ultra-thin pads which follow the P&G “Always” range using perforated thermal-bonded nonwoven topsheets instead of the perforated film. A 3-D topsheet with large holes was the most “structured” and smaller hole versions were also available. Masking of the fluid had been achieved (they wouldn't say how but it looked like a high-titania loading in the nonwoven). Ultra-softness in a non-perforated topsheet made from fine bico fibres with a fully hydrophilic finish. (Strike-through was too poor with hydrophobic finishes) A laminate of the “Always- type” perforated film with 10gsm of lightly bonded PP fleece. This provided the performance of film with a more comfortable textile-like surface. Panty-liners with highloft wadding under the perforated thermal bonded topsheet to match J&J's “Carefree” range for dryness and cleaness. Twist-opening digital tampon-wrap. They get round the J&J patent by fully-perforating the Cellophane, but with holes so small the wrapped product can be dipped (briefly) in water without the fibres inside getting wet. In wet-wipes they commented that the P&G “Kandoo” range of products aimed at toddlers would be the ones to follow. Hand & Face wipes were next after the moist toilet tissue. As if to illustrate the consolidation that was occurring, they drew attention to the Nivea “Toddies” wipes which were on sale in France, Austria and Poland which claimed multi-use, i.e. suitable for bottom and hands and face, presumably not in that order. Wet-wipe developments were being hindered by extreme pressure on cost-reduction and frequent alterations in the EU guidelines regarding ingredients. For instance poly-ethylene glycol could no longer be used. (The Öko-Test organisation was checking products regularly and this October all lotion ingredients will have to be declared on the pack.) Hyga feel their strength is the speed with which they can develop and consumer test a prototype. (3 months from idea to execution). Innovate BV ( Holland ) …were showing a range of wipes for premature babies with lotion designed for the very young skin. These were dispensed in a Kandoo-type box which they had co-developed with ALDI. The wipes had a logo embossed into the fabric which they admitted was done with PGI's Apex technology. Cotton wipes remain interesting and Innovate claim to be able to source the fabric exclusively for this application and convert it at a cost which allows the retailer to sell 100% cotton baby-wipes at a lower price than P&G's “Pampers” wipes. For hand and face uses, their wipes are still growing in a crowded market as a result of offering the highest quality at the lowest price. Flushability was still sought after, but in their view an air-laid substrate was necessary to make this possible. Unfortunately, compared with commodity spun-laced viscose polyester, air laid pulp was now too expensive, and while the demand for flushability was still evident at retail level, the absence of standards was hindering development. Nevertheless their moist toilet tissues for kids claimed flushability at the 3 wipes per flush level. Intigena V & M AG (Switzerland) …were displaying a small diaper with a highly apertured nonwoven topsheet that looked like a woven gauze, and an attractively printed backing film. The topsheet was like PGI's Apex material but they said it was made elsewhere. Kimberly-Clark Europe …claim the knowledge gained developing premium brands makes them best able to meet the needs of today's retailer seeking differentiated own-brand products. In fact the synergy works both ways because they now have examples of features developed at the request of retailers which have been incorporated into their brands. Commenting on the fact that no wet-wipes were visible on the stand, a K-C'er speculated that they had yet to introduce Huggies wipes in Germany probably because P&G “Pampers” wipes were too well established and the listing fees required by the retailers (for shelf space) were too high. As last year they were making the most of innovations in their tissue products, especially those featuring colours and prints suitable for marketing to children, and the softness advantage they feel they have from through air drying. While they do not yet supply the US private label market, they do feel they are onto a good thing. Why don't P&G do likewise? Maybe they will – for the first time ever they had observed the P&G CEO and staff touring the show. The only “new” item on display was a digital tampon wrapped in a green twist-off wrapper. Multibrands ( UK ) …described themselves as an 8 year old import-export company who 2 years ago decided to make rather than import. They are introducing a premium quality branded baby-wipe into the UK using the “Tushies” brand. In the USA where this brand name is already taken the same product is marketed as “Honey”. Why are they at PLMA if the strategy is premium brand? Because they would make a similar own-brand product if anyone asked. What made “Tushies” special enough to take on P&G in the UK ? They used heavier spunlace to give a thicker softer texture and use an advanced lotion formulation at pH 5.5 which is clinically tested. ( These wipes appeared to contain little or no cellulosic fibres. ) Nagev Surgical Dressing Ltd ( Hungary ) …showed a pantyliner with asymmetric wings designed for more comfortable attachment to thongs. The wings did not overlap when fastened around the thong and hence reduced the overall thickness. They also had digital tampons with the twist-off wrapper. Nice-Pak International ( UK ) …observed that the cosmetic wipe sector had fragmented into a wide rang of offerings with each wipe providing ever more subtle variations on the theme of skin care. In this sector “multi-purpose”, which seems to be the emerging theme in household and baby-care does not work. Flushability continues to be demanded by retailers but the confusion of standards makes development difficult. Big companies like P&G can self-validate using their own proprietary methods, but the private label suppliers have to rely on independent testing houses. The situation is made more complex by the variety of different flush volumes and toilet designs and this makes many of the claims on the packs unbelievable – e.g. 5 wipes per flush on a “Kandoo” type product. Cotton certainly has marketing advantages in the baby wipe sector but the price pressures here make it too expensive for the Nice-Pak range. In the Household Wipes sector there is nothing new this year. Last years developments went way beyond requirements and the fragmentation observed then has reversed with multipurpose products at lower cost being preferred. The adult inco wipe sector is growing nicely. In the New Ideas section Nice-Pak showed a “Scratch n' Sniff” label on a flowpack so that the customer could smell the product inside without opening the pack. Noam Urim Enterprises ( Israel ) …were once again promoting their Soap'n Wipe range of bulky polyester needlefelts impregnated with soaps for use in hotels, restaurants and hospitals. However at this show several stands were showing wash mittens which appeared to be using this product beneath a topsheet. (presumably following the P&G “Kandoo” Kiddies wash mitten) Nölken Hygiene Products GMBH ( Germany ) …claimed the largest and strongest wet-toilet wipe for kids (“Feucht und Frisch”) which could be disposed of in the toilet at up to 5 at a time. How quickly did it disintegrate? It didn't: it was not air-laid but 100% viscose spunlaced and it biodegraded rapidly. It may not work in all countries but they said it did in Germany . Ontex International B.V. ( Holland ) …had a “new” tampon on display, enthusiastically described as specially developed for Boots who had commenced selling it 3 months ago. The new feature? Lengthwise expansion! Orlandi SPA ( Italy ) …were one of the very few nonwoven producers at the show. Mr Massimo Cassani, their spunlace sales manager explained that since building their first line in 1991 they had added two similar lines capable of making the standard spunlaced viscose/polyester blend needed by wet-wipes and a fourth line capable of making a unique fibre/pulp/fibre sandwich. Here the viscose/polyester outer layers were calendered to give a very smooth texture and to prevent pulp fibres migrating to the surface. They are currently working on 3-D embossed products using both water-jet and thermal methods. The wet-wipe market has now plateaued, supply exceeds demand, and the developments in China are frightening everyone. Costs have to be reduced while raw material prices rise and the $/€ exchange rate remains a tragedy. Lenzing has and effective monopoly on rayon in Europe and the USA . Prices have risen steadily until earlier this year when they stabilised and started to decline. Rockline Industries Ltd ( UK ) …reported the cosmetic wipe sector 20% up on last year with textured spun-lace substrates doing best. They described wet-wipes as becoming more of a process than a product because interactions between the substrate and the lotion were emerging that demolished the old “simple” product view. You now had to decide the feature you wished to deliver and co-develop the lotion and substrate to work together. Many cosmetic wipes needed a dual-sided substrate (exfoliation and moisturising again) to get the right texture. They feel cotton is going to be a more important marketing angle in future and are testing products made of 100% cotton. However the cavalier attitude to product claims in Europe (c.f. USA ) make life difficult for the strictly “honest” supplier. Cotton claims are being made on products which are blends and some being minority cotton. Clearly they don't perform well and get the “cotton” claim a bad name. Nowadays, the PL suppliers job starts with matching the performance of the brand leaders and moving ahead from this point. The big conflict is between cost and customisation, retailers wanting ever more customised products while being unwilling to pay the inevitable extra costs. 9 out of 10 wet wipe introductions have failed in the last few years, Colgate Palmolive's Dish Wipes, Microwavable oven-cleaning wipes and Brillo's Scrub n' Toss being the higher profile examples. Rostam Ltd ( Israel ) Had nothing visibly new on display and were characteristically reluctant to talk. Having shown them the Ellen probiotic tampon they did admit to be looking at similar developments and to have been working on an applicator which also “delivered a drug.” This was now FDA approved but they were not ready to launch it. Sadovsky Ltd ( Israel ) Had developed a laminated version of the “Magic Sponge” to improve its durability. The melamine foam was laminated to a coarser pan-scourer which was said to prevent it from breaking up too easily in use. Their floor-mops used knitted microfibre tapes rather than the slit chemically-bonded nonwovens favoured by Vileda, and their floor cloths were massive knitted microfibre fabrics. Spring Srl ( Italy ) Showed a full range of “Swiffer-like” electrostatic dust gatherers including a mitt (“Blitser Facile”) made of the same scrim-reinforced spun-laced polypropylene. Wecovi B.V. ( Holland ) Had a full range of “Swiffer – like” anti-static wipes but new for this year was the “Magic Eraser”, a block of melamine foam of the sort used in building insulation being sold with claims of an ability to remove stains from most hard surfaces. Variations on this theme featured on many stands, but Wecovi claimed an exclusive arrangement with the foam maker (BASF) presumably for Holland . (This product was described elsewhere as a discovery similar in importance to 3M's “Post it” adhesive.) Calvin Woodings 30/5/2005

INDEX 2005 – Geneva – April 12-15th.

All previous INDEX events have comprised the world's largest nonwovens exhibition running in parallel with the world's largest nonwovens conference. The resulting blockbuster was of course unmissable, but not without its conflicts. Conflicts for the conference delegates who had to pay a large conference attendance fee but were unable to spend enough time in the exhibition and conflicts for the exhibitors who would have attended the conference had they not been stand-bound. Nevertheless since 1973 they came in their thousands and made INDEX into EDANA's most consistently profitable event.

Recently we have seen a proliferation of conferences including several new ones from EDANA (“Outlook”, “Filtrex”, “International Nonwovens”). Maybe as a consequence, for the first time in Geneva this year, EDANA abandoned the time-honoured format and allowed the exhibition to take precedence. However they managed to do so without alienating conference lovers. Within the exhibition space there was a small area where exhibitors presented their products to anyone who cared to sit in – at no extra charge. Outside the exhibition, a lecture hall was dedicated to the first 1-day Nonwovens Research Academy , a low-cost conference comprising 12 academic papers mainly from the European Nonwovens Research centres. This Research Academy worked well and EDANA will repeat it annually or even semi-annually in the coming years.

Another organizational innovation was the “invitation-only” Nonwovens Summit, i.e. the first meeting of a Global Steering Committee set up to unify the European, American and Asian nonwovens associations (EDANA, INDA, and ANFA). Introductory words from each of the Chairmen opened the program and two “keynote speeches” dealt with the big issues facing our industry. The first of these set out the challenges clearly and concisely and was one of the best conference talks for many years.

EDANA - Global Nonwovens Summit

Keynote 1: Nonwovens – The case for global partnerships

Norbert Dahlstrom, formerly a Managing Partner at Freudenberg and ex-EDANA Chairman, had been commissioned by the current Chairman – Rolf Altdorf - to consider the nonwovens industry 15 years from now and predict the key changes needed to get there. He chose 7 issues to debate, all linked by the need for partnership for successful resolution.

1. Nomenclature: Like it or not, the nonwoven industry is still, as its name suggests, a subset of the textile industry and hence remains subjugated to its political and economic manoeverings. It needs to become an industry in its own right, producing an independent category of goods as an essential precondition of fair trade. All members of the nonwoven community need to empower their associations to co-operate in a truly synchronised global initiative to achieve this status.
2. Identity: The diverse parentage of nonwovens (textiles, fibres, paper, plastics, leather etc) means the industry suffers a genetic birth defect leading to a vague identity and a lack of self confidence. Nonwovens need to be easily recognized in their own right and not as a child of a related industry. Once again global co-operation between the associations is needed to promote and market “Nonwovens” to the public. This will be very expensive but it must be done.
3. Information: EDANA pioneered the collection and dissemination of industry production and market data. INDA followed and extended the process to forward projections to aid investment decisions. This needs to be done annually on a global basis by a partnership of the associations. Such data is key to new start-ups and related information on international standards, test methods, legislation and regulation should all be tracked and reported by the partnership.
4. Education: The rapid decline of the textile industries in Europe and the USA is leading to a loss of the colleges and institutes which have been a prime source of talented people for the nonwovens industry. The remaining institutes now educate a student population derived mainly from Asia , because the nonwoven industry as a subset of textiles does not have the profile to attract talented Europeans or Americans. Points 1-3 above must be dealt with before students can perceive nonwoven as a dynamic industry capable of providing a fulfilling career.
5. Raw Materials: We need to learn to live with significantly higher raw material prices in a market where the lack of price elasticity at the consumer level is legendary. A doubling of raw materials costs cannot be absorbed in such a short supply chain and ways of overcoming the difficulties this creates should become a common concern of a global partnership of the associations. European companies must have access to imported fibres and resins free of anti-dumping and other duties. Protection of the remaining inefficient European fibre industry will accelerate its decline.
6. Innovation: The nonwovens industry is embarked on a strategy of diminishing returns. R&D budgets are being reduced due to the commodotisation of the major hygiene sector. Tougher market demands and increasing competition cause the large global players to misuse their enormous purchasing power to apply ruinous price pressure on their suppliers, who as a consequence can no longer afford R&D. Costly development services are now delegated upstream and supplier audits (e.g. as operated by the automotive industry) are frequently misused to acquire and disseminate proprietary knowledge. Nonwovens could be blundering into the same trap that destroyed textiles and other traditional industries. Suppliers in the west close down to be replaced by new ones in the Third World who have invested in turnkey plants free from any innovation costs. Nonwovens still has enormous innovation potential and all members of the global supply chain must co-operate unselfishly to realise it.
7. Partnership: Partnerships are the way forward for both individual companies and trade associations. Genuine partnerships are distinct from the dependent supplier/customer relationships often referred to as partnerships. Unlike the latter, genuine partnerships must abide by “the most primitive rules of mutual respect and modesty as well as some basic principles of economic life”. Self-interest and rivalry must be suppressed and there must be a greater willingness to genuinely understand and respect the motives of a partner.

Keynote 2: Textiles and Clothing after 2005

Mr Filipe Girao, Head of Textiles at the European Commission's Enterprise Directorate General reviewed the adjustments to strategy that were now taking place. In the past, the EC assumed that the EU would become a “Services” economy, but they had now realised that manufacturing industry was also important if only because successful Services depend on having a healthy industrial base. Textiles/Clothing (TC) manufacture had been an important part of this base and the EC now thought it should remain so. The challenges were not insignificant:

• The EC economy had been “difficult” with slow growth for 5 years.
• The Textile quota system had ended on 1/1/2005
• The enlargement of the EU meant that some relocation of TC manufacturing within the EU was now needed to improve regional employment and cohesion.
• The competitiveness of the TC sector had to be increased if it was to survive the tide of low-cost imports from the East. EU TC industry needed:
  • Improved quality and design
  • More Innovation
  • Move to higher value products and services
  • Increased flexibility and speed-to-market.

The High Level Group report on the European TC Industry in a Quota-free Environment had been approved in June last year and in October, and the recommended actions had been published:

• Education, Training and Employment initiatives. These included Thematic Networking between Universities and using the European Social Fund to develop/regenerate “employability”
• Research and Innovation Initiatives such as “Leapfrog” which included €14M funding for a revolution in clothing production methods. Additional support (>€20M already granted) for work in technical textiles (includes nonwovens - for construction, protective clothing and medical enduses), biomaterials/implants, and “ambient intelligent technologies for new products, services and business”.
• Competitiveness issues, including an assessment of the impact of REACH on the TC industry. (REACH=Registration, Evaluation and Authorisation of Chemicals – previously reported to be costing industry €20-30billion, causing 600,000 job losses and having a “de-industrializing” effect on the EU – presumably part of the “Service Industry” strategy).
• Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights.
• Increased co-operation with Middle-East and North African TC producers – the “Pan-Euro-Med” market.
• For 2007-13, a Structural Fund Reserve had been proposed to deal with unforeseen crises arising from the elimination of quotas. This could fund new economic activities for the unemployed and the creation of new innovation and research centres.

In conclusion, it was now the responsibility of the TC industry to take full advantage of the opportunities to modernise.

Asked by Rory Holmes, INDA's President, if the EU would drop the duty on nonwovens imported from the USA , Mr Girao said the position was publicly known, negotiations were in progress, duties were now lower than they had been, and would probably go lower still.

Research Academy Papers

Hydroentangled Biodegradable Spunbonds

Mr Wolfgang Schilde of the Sächsisches Textilforschungsinstitut – STFI (Germany) described work on webs made from PLA (Natureworks® polylactic acid), recycled PLA, PTAT (Eastar Bio® polytetramethylene adipate-co-terephthalate) and PEA (BAK® polyester amide). The webs had been produced on a Reicofil 4 pilot line similar to the one currently being installed at STFI, and bonded on their Fleissner Aquajet pilot line. The study appeared to be more a demonstration of STFI's current and future capabilities than a serious piece of research, but the following conclusions were offered:

• PLA filaments have the highest strengths peaking at 20 cn/tex at 6000 m/min air speed.
• Hydroentangled PEA and PTAT spunbonds are softer and more elastic than PLA spunbonds. As a result PLA shows significantly higher air permeability.
• Spunlacing gives stronger spunbonds than thermal calendering or needling.
• The biopolymers reach their optimum strength at lower water pressures than either polypropylene or polyester.
• “The nonwoven centre of excellence at STFI offers a unique possibility to combine the spunbonding process with other technologies”.

Elastic Polyolefin Nonwovens

Vincent Gallez of Exxon/Mobil provide further information on the use of the Vistamaxx® range of elastomeric polyolefin resins in spunbond and meltblown nonwovens. These semi-crystalline co/terpolymers of PP with other alpha-olefins have lower densities than PP (~0.86 g/cc), MFR's in the 1-400 g/10mins range and melting points between 40 and 160 o C. They stretch by 100 to 1500% with 80-97% recovery and do not need drying prior to extrusion. A narrow molecular weight range gives near-Newtonian rheology and hence excellent spinnability on conventional spunbond lines. However it crystallises more slowly so the fibres are sticky and require faster quenching than PP. This means lower melt temperatures, lower output per hole, longer quench zone and lower quench temperature. Higher draw ratios will be needed to get the same deniers as PP. (2500 m/min = 2 denier).

The elastic recovery of the spunbond nonwovens is improved by calendering which anneals the fibres and causes CD shrinkage even at surface temperatures as low as 80 o C. Extensibilities of 100 to 300% show 15% hysteresis on the first stretching and this falls to 7% thereafter.

200-300 MFR resins can be melt-blown easily into highly elastic webs with good self-bonding integrity even without thermal bonding. This “stickiness” can be a problem and a water spray can be used to improve quenching and release of the web from the forming conveyor. Clearly there is no release problem if the melt-blown is the middle layer of an SMS structure. Hysteresis falls to 8% after the first stretch.

Asked about the price of Vistamaxx® resins, Mr Gallez said they would be competitive with PU and SEBS spunbonds. To produce staple fibres spinning speed would have to exceed 4000 m/min and use a long quench zone to reach 1.5 denier fibre.

Flameproof Meltblown Nonwovens

Dr Frank Meister of the Thüringisches Institut für Textil- und Kunstoff-Forschung e.V. (TITK) described work carried out in conjunction with Agrolinz Melamin International (AMI) on meltblowing specially etherified melamine-formaldehyde resin granules (MER). MER has a globular molecular structure comprising a core of 30-300 triazines with reactive groups forming a skin. The globular structure means traditionally melt-spun fibres are weak, but melt blowing followed by cross-linking in a hydrochloric-acid gas/formic acid/air mixture overcomes this disadvantage. Properties can be further improved by overbonding with a melamine-formaldehyde resin and applications in flame resistant building insulation and protective clothing are envisaged.

Asked if the nonwovens were soft enough for apparel use, Dr Meister said the softness depended on denier and was good at typical melt-blow deniers. How high could the working temperature be? Above 200 o C the fibres embrittle, but they do not ignite or melt.

Thermal Protection Fabrics containing Aerogels

Sabrina Höffele of the Leeds University Nonwovens Research Group (UK) described the principles of thermal insulation and highlighted aerogels, “nanoporous” materials with a pore size smaller than the mean free path of gas molecules. These were discovered in 1931 and can be made from many metal oxides and even polymers. Hydrophobic silica beads with a diameter of around 1.2mm are the most widely used form. They are 95% air with 20 nm pores and stable up to 600 o . Their development was funded by NASA for space-suit insulation, and Aspen Aerogel Inc (USA) now make Spaceloft® fabrics for use in ski-wear. (USP 6068882)

Leeds University has filled the cavities in its Hydrospace hydroentangled nonwoven blanket with the beads and measured the thermal properties. The beads used were fully hydrophobic, 2.4mm in diameter with a bulk density of 100 kg/m 3 and a specific surface area of 700 m 2 /gm. The addition of the aerogel reduces the surface temperature of a blanket covering a 33 o C hot plate by 2.5 o C (thermal imaging method) compared with the blanket with air alone in the cavities.

Fireproof coating for PP Nonwovens

Moise Vouters of the Institut Francais du Textile et de l'Habillement (IFTH – France) described a collaborative effort to develop an intumescent back coating to replace the halogenated polymeric binders which are now used to fireproof PP nonwovens used in bedding and furniture. Physiological problems with halogenated binders in the USA and stricter EC regulations motivated the work.

An intumescent system is generally composed of three active agents : an acid agent, a carbon source and a blowing agent. Several successive reactions between these agents take place during the thermal degradation of the system leading to the formation of a carboneous expanded layer, generally called char. This char reduces heat transfer from the flame to the polymer and hinders diffusion of volatiles towards the flame and oxygen towards the polymer. Here standard acrylic or polyurethane binders (an innovative carbon source), were loaded with 15% of ammonium polyphosphate and a metallic oxide catalyst. These coatings allowed the PP fabric to pass the tests for ignitability (ISO 6941) and reduced the peak of heat release in a cone calorimeter with heat flux of 30 kw/m 2 .

Cellulose Esters in Nonwovens

Keith Middleton of Eastman Chemical Co. Technology Labs. ( UK ) reviewed the uses of cellulose ester fibres, films and coatings and considered the relevance of these “high-performance biopolymer derivatives” in today's “value-added” nonwovens. Cellulose acetate, propionate or butyrate can be made by esterifying woodpulp with the respective anhydrides in the presence of a sulphuric acid catalyst. Acetate fibres are well known in cigarette filters and more recently the film version has found a growing market in protective films for LCD displays. Gas and moisture permeability is high as is hydrophilicity, these being adjustable over a wide range by altering the degree of esterification or by using finishes or plasticizers. Acetate films with varying pore structures can be made by adding different molecular weights of polyethylene glycol to the dope at a 20% add-on level. Water vapour transmission rates of up to 2700 mgs/m 2 /day were achieved.

Biodegradability is best with the acetate ester and can be improved by reducing the degree of acetylation, values below 1.9 giving products which “mineralise” in less than a week in active composting. Biocomposites for automotive use were made by blending standard acetate fibre with natural cellulosics. These demonstrated the right balance of mouldability, tensile strength and biodegradability.

Acetate is also an excellent carrier for active substances because it can be “melt spun” at low temperature or solvent spun/cast at ambient temperature. Volatile fragrances could be incorporated without loss of the “high notes”. Furthermore acetate is bondable at ambient temperatures with FDA approved solvents such as triacetin so loaded acetate fibres could be used in nonwovens to deliver personal care ingredients, cosmeceuticals and medicaments. Cellulose esters are more effective at trapping enzymes (and retaining high enzymatic activity) than the commonly used synthetics.

Pore Volume and Vapour Transmission Rate

Dr Krishna Gupta, the Technical Director of Porous Materials Inc (USA) has been using their novel liquid extrusion porosimetry and water vapour transmission methods to characterise the pore structure of nonwovens. In the Liquid Extrusion technique, the sample is placed on a membrane whose largest pore is smaller than the smallest pore of interest in the sample. The pores of the sample and the membrane are filled with a wetting liquid and the pressure of a non-reacting gas displaces the wetting liquid from the pores in the sample and through the membrane without emptying any of the membrane pores. The volume of liquid collected through the membrane is the volume of the “through” pores. Mercury porosimetry, which requires 20 times the test pressure, adds in the volume of “blind” pores as well. Furthermore the high pressure compresses the whole sample under test, reducing the pore sizes accordingly. Pore diameter distributions from the two techniques also differ because liquid extrusion only measures the pore diameter at the narrowest point in a constricted channel whereas the mercury technique measures the widest point. Dr Gupta concluded that the liquid extrusion technique was by far the best method for characterizing the pores in a nanofibre nonwoven of the sort used in tissue culture.

PMI's Water Vapour Transmission method involves passing gas with controlled humidity (5% to 95%), temperature (ambient to 100 o C), and pressure over both sides of a fabric which divides a chamber in two. By creating a humidity differential between the inlet gases to the top and bottom surfaces of the sample and measuring the humidity of the outlet streams the WVTR through the fabric could be assessed over a range of humidity differentials. WVTR is thus obtained as a function of the average humidity of the gas streams fed above and below the sample. Temperature and pressure gradients can also be created and the WVTR behaviour of a nonwoven whose pore sizes change as it absorbs or desorbs water can be studied in all its complexity. In the nanofibre nonwoven example, WVTR was found to be linearly dependent on the average humidity of the gas used, increasing sevenfold between 30% and 60%RH.

Modelling Through-Air Bonding

Dr Memis Acar of Loughborough University (UK) described attempts to develop a computer model of through-air bonding using the FLUENT software and the financial support of NCRC (USA). The nonwoven web was assumed to be made of randomly distributed PE/PP bico fibres and the computations were carried out for various air inlet velocities and web porosities. To simplify the computations:

• The web was stationary.
• Porosity and permeability of the web was taken to be unaffected by melting.
• Density of the fibres was taken to be unaffected by melting.
• Temperatures of air and fibres (solid or liquid) were assumed the same.
• Thermophysical properties of the air and fibres were assumed homogeneous and isotropic.

The calculations showed it that with a web porosity of 0.9 and an air velocity of 1.5m/s at 140 o C the fibres would take 6.6 seconds to melt, this rising to 33 seconds as web porosity decreased to 0.5. If air velocity was increased to 3.0m/sec, melting time fell to 3.5 seconds.

The authors concluded that melting time can be modelled using this technique and the model has potential for improving the design of through-air bonders.

3D structures from Needlefelts

Barbara Schimanz, a Project Manager at the Sächsisches Textilforschungsinstitut – STFI ( Germany ) presented further information on the Laroche Napco “3D Needling” process which was introduced in 2003. In this process two lightly bonded needlefelts made of fibres sufficiently long to bridge the gap between the layers are needled together over spacer-bars which hold the layers apart. The resulting product, 12mm thick at 450 gsm had cylindrical air spaces in the MD. If the spacers were hollow, they could be fed with powders allowing a composite structure to emerge. Applications now being developed at STFI include:

• Heat protection garments where the lightweight spacer nonwovens allow more wearer comfort than conventional insulation.
• Wetness-control covers for chairs and car seats. Here the top layer of the honeycomb would be hydrophobic and the lower layer hydrophilic, wicking occurring through the vertical fibres which create the spacer channels.
• Recycling granulated automotive plastic waste. The granules are fed into the channels in the needlefelt as it is made and the whole sheet can then be cut and re-moulded to form new headliners or parcel shelves etc.

A New Nonwoven Canvas?

John Hagewood, Associate Director of the Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center (NCRC - USA ) reminded us that Islands-in-a-Sea bicomponent fibres can have high strength and toughness especially when the components have widely differing melting points (e.g. nylon islands in a polyethylene sea). Interestingly, during extrusion the PE skin keeps the nylon polymer hotter for longer allowing more orientation to be developed. Spunbonds made from such fibres can, after high pressure hydroentanglement and calendering to melt the polyethylene, outperform the same basis weight of woven canvas in both grab tensile and tongue tear testing. They also outperform 100% nylon spunbonds given similar treatment.

Future work will include looking at other polymer combinations, optimizating the bonding conditions, making lighterweight fabrics for other applications and exploring the coating and laminating potential.

Structure/Permeability Relationships in Spunlace Fabrics

Ningtao Mao a Research Fellow at Leeds University Nonwovens Research Group (UK) has been modelling hydroentanglement bonding from fibre properties, water-jet parameters and web structure. Bonding depends on bending of the fibres in the web and this bending relates to “hydroentanglement intensity” (HI), defined as the product of the number of “fibre segments” hit by the water jet and the bending deflection depth of these segments. Graphs of fabric tensile strength against HI were very similar to the usual plots of strength against applied energy.

Fabrics made from viscose and polypropylene respectively were assessed for permeability and bending deflection depth. A linear correlation found. Viscose deformed more easily than polypropylene and gave less permeable fabrics. However with water pressures varying from 10 to 80 bar and fibre deflections ranging from 1.5 to 4.8 millimetres it was apparent that the experiments to date were on non-commercial fabrics.

Nanofibres from Water Soluble Polymers

Dr Helga Thomas of the Wool Research Institute at RWTH Aachen ( Germany ) has studied the formation of nanofibre webs from wool proteins (isolated as S-sulfo-keratins) and from chitosan in pure form as well as blended with poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(vinylalcohol), respectively. In addition, the possibility of making temperature stable nanofibre webs from silica sols deriving from tertraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) was investigated.

Why wool? Because it has proved to be a reactive adsorbent for harmful indoor-air substances such as formaldehyde so keratin nanofibre webs could be useful components in air filtration. Nanofibres were successfully produced from the low-sulphur fraction of S-sulpho keratins but the high sulphur fraction could only be converted in blend with PEO (25% of the keratin) to give 440 nm fibres.

Chitosan, a natural antimicrobial, electrosprayed rather than electrospun to give a nano-particle-fibre intermediate. It could only be converted into fibres in blend with PVA (giving 355 nm fibres) or PEO (giving 224 nm fibres) but the antimicrobial effect of the nanofibre webs was nevertheless demonstrable, both alone and after “bonding” with a Chitosan size.

Silica sols converted directly to give 630nm fibres in electrospinning but the addition of 1% ethanol to the dope caused the average diameter to fall to 234nm. The dried webs were unaffected by heating to 210 o C for 10 minutes. These webs could also be sized with Chitosan to give them antimicrobial properties.

Dr Thomas concluded that electrospinning of water soluble polymers is a powerful tool for generating functional nonwovens with very high surface area.

Selected Product Presentations

Natureworks LLC…

updated the situation on PLA fibre since Cargill bought Dow Chemical's share of the old CDP business. Their Blair Nebraska plant is producing about 140,000 tonnes/year of PLA resin and a further 180,000 of lactic acid. Resin can be bought from Natureworks, and the Ingeo staple fibre from FIT. Filament is produced by Antex/Radici. 65% of the resin goes to packaging, 30% to textiles and 20% to nonwovens. The main nonwoven applications are still hi-loft waddings. 70% of sales are in Japan and Europe is expected to move next. The US market is “slow”. Resin prices have fallen and are now between $1 and 80c depending on melting point. Further reductions will depend on switching to other sources of biomass, e.g.corn stover, and using less fossil fuel by using windmills to generate power for the Blair plant.

Neumag/Saurer…

continue their strategy of acquisitions to allow them to offer a complete range of machinery to the nonwovens industry with the purchase of Kortec festooning to complement their M&J air-laying, Ason spunbonding and Autefa crosslapping operations. They now need opening/carding, hydroentanglement, thermal bonding, needlepunching, heatsetting, drying and winding technology and will be looking to buy companies or form partnerships in these technologies. To underline the size of their operation they observed that their spinning machine installations now produce 17,000 tonnes per day of fibre. Their R&D centre has 8 pilot lines (including fibre spinning) and now includes the new Nonwovens Solution Centre. However the previously announced move to a Nanoval pilot line has been shelved due to disappointing results from the trials conducted since they acquired the innovative nanofibre melt-blowing technology.

Fibervisions…

have introduced a second generation Hy-Wettable fibre with improved durability of hydrophilicity. It is being sold at the same price as the basic fibre “to allow customers a chance to innovate”. The polymer is modified by addition of polar groups. Asked how likely it was to make inroads into the viscose share of the wet-wipes market the salesman rather candidly admitted that if they could have got it out a year ago before the price rises it would have been very successful. Now it was probably too expensive. Fibervisions have also introduced 100% polyethylene staple, intended to be blended with polypropylene to improve the wipes softness.

Rieter…

are upgrading their Perfobond 3000 spunbond system to allow it to handle polyester by the end of 2005. Their strategy is now to supply complete nonwoven lines, including SMS which will use the Rieter Automatik Emblo® melt-blowing system. Their hydroentanglement lines (130 supplied to date) now comprise, Trutzschler – Laroche opening and blending, F.O.R triple-doffer cards, Jetlace 3000 bonding, and Perfodry 3000 drying followed by calendering and winding. The latest trend is to customize the spunlace fabric with embossed or watermarked patterns or logos. Their Isojet system is a patented way of boosting the CD strength to achieve square strength properties. Spunjet is a combination of the Perfobond and the Jetlace 3000 systems to make HE spunbonds.

BBA…

were showing elastic Bicomponent spunbonds made from a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) core and a PP, PE or PET sheath, the latter for products that needed dyeing. The PP sheath, despite longitudinal crennelation caused by core contraction, masked the rubbery feel of the TPU, and this product has been produced commercially over a range of 25 to 300 gsm for hygiene and other industrial applications. They hope to repeat the work soon with an elastomeric PP core. The production line used is 2.3 metres wide but uses a tenter frame to stretch the formed fabric out to 5 metres wide. So far the product is thermal bonded but they intend to try hydroentanglement as well. The product as marketed by Advanced Design Concepts – a JV between BBA and Dow Chemicals - won the Index 05 award for the Best New Nonwoven for disposable enduses, and a product made from the spunbond (“Forever Fresh” Underwear) won the Best New Disposable Finished product award.

Vision 2005 - New Orleans - 16th - 19th Jan 2005

Vision returned to a bitterly-cold and breezy New Orleans after a brief holiday in Las Vegas . Despite the cold, most of the ~350 delegates were glad to be back in what is rapidly becoming the spiritual home of this unique conference. Vision has evolved into a major networking opportunity built on a framework of thought-provoking oral and table-top presentations, the former dealing with the bigger issues affecting the global nonwovens industry. Vision is also the originator of the annual Visionary Awards which never fail to add a little controversy and Cajun spice to the occasion.

Live Longer, Work harder, Retire Later?

Richard Jackson of the Centre for Strategic International Studies gave a stark warning: population ageing will wreck the economy of any nation that fails to prepare for it.
• The developed world will comprise 26% over-65's by 2040, up from 16% in 2005.
• The developing world will have 12% over-65's by 2040, up from 6% now.
• Japan will feel the effects first, then Europe and then the USA .

The problem has two causes:
• Lower fertility rates are reducing the proportion of young people. While the USA 's birth-rate has fallen from 3.3 to 2.1 in the last 40 years, 2.1 is sufficient for replacement. Italy , Japan and Germany at the other end of the scale now suffer birth-rates of 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4 respectively.
• Old people are living longer. Life expectancy at birth in the developed world has risen from 67 to 79 between 1955 and 2005, and from 41 to 63 in the developing world.

For the first time in history, the population distribution pyramid is inverting, as the old become the majority. Compared with 28.6 in 1950, the median age for the developed world had risen to 38.7 by 2005 and is confidently expected to reach 46.4 by 2050 if current fertility rates are maintained. In France for example, by 2025, 2/3rds of the population will be retired. This electoral majority will not allow pensions to be reduced and will insist on those in work paying more tax because by then defence spending will have been eliminated to pay pensions.

The challenges posed by this scenario are as follows:
• Fiscal: how to contain rising retirement costs. The ratio of workers to retirees was around 3 on average in the developed world in 1995 (4.2 in the USA and 1.3 in Italy ) and will be around 1.8 in 2050 (2.3 in the USA and 0.7 in Italy ). The tax burden on those in work would have to double if nothing else changes.
• Labour: how to cope with a shrinking, and ageing, workforce. The answer is cross-border outsourcing and encouraging immigration of the young from the developing world. Inevitable political problems at home and abroad will need addressing first.
• Growth: when markets and populations are stagnant or declining. Long-term GDP growth will be zero or negative, savings and investments will decline as consumer spending and demand for infrastructure and capital goods declines.
• Financial: the danger of a great depression when the baby-boomers are in retirement. Borrowing to fund pensions becomes unsustainable, regional economic entities like the European Monetary Union collapse under the strain, and countries like China and Mexico become creditors to Japan and Germany .
• Geopolitical: power shifts as defence spending has to be cut. Global leadership passes from the First to the Third world.

The solutions are apparent but unpalatable. Third world “young” support the First world “old” (immigration and outsourcing) or we in the developed world must work harder and longer, retire later, reduce unemployment amongst the young, reward families for raising children, and reform the pension system so that each individual has to save to fund his/her retirement.

In response to questions, Mr Jackson said that the 30-year demographics are accurate and certain. (If we doubled fertility rates tomorrow, it would be twenty years before the effect on the economy would be felt.) China 's demographics have a huge destabiliser built in: the unusually high ratio of boys to girls (1.17 overall, but 1.5 for second children) resulting from the population control policy. This will create a “daughter-in-law shortage” and hence a shortage of the traditional carers for the elderly.

Groping Forward in the Dark: The ALDI way of retailing

Dieter Brandes, a former General Manager and current Board Member of the German ALDI chain of retailers gave a refreshingly informative “Keynote” introduction to the principles and strategy which led to its success in Europe and entrance into the US market. In the latter context he stressed at the outset that Aldi would not be a dangerous competitor to Wal-Mart but would provide many opportunities for suppliers by giving the public new reasons to buy their products.

Aldi turns over $51 billion/year in 10 countries, $45 bn of this in the EU, $5 bn in the USA and $1 bn in Australia . Their stores (7100 now, 800 being in the USA ) are characterised by the absence of shelves, the aisles being formed by stacks of boxed products on pallets. In Germany their concentration on what they describe as the bare essentials allows them to make 4.5% return on a 15% margin where their main competitors achieve no more than 1.5% on a 27.5% margin. This allows them to command a stockmarket value equal to Daimler-Chrysler and 10 times that of Lufthansa, and retain the “No1 Retailer” image in Germany . The acquisition of Trader Joe's/Albertsons is the basis of their US operation.

The corporate culture responsible for their phenomenal success is unusual to say the least:
• Simplicity is the keyword. (“Develop a clear concept, concentrate on it with consistency and attention to the detail”)
• Stick to 700 easily handled products which are essential to daily life (“competitors offer too much choice and confuse the customer”. Aldi have 6 SKU's of coffee compared to Wal-Mart's 125)
• Supply the highest possible quality at the lowest possible price, this only becoming possible when all the unnecessary aspects of doing business have been eliminated.

So what has been eliminated from the Aldi business model? There are no staff functions, the line managers handling all aspects of management. There is no “human resources” department, no marketing, no market research, no use of consultants or buying in of market studies, no budgeting, and the line managers do their own simple accounting. The whole company is run on just 5 reports. Mr Brandes clearly had the audiences attention when he observed that budgeting is the biggest waste of management capacity, and that computerisation has allowed data to multiply to a level of complexity which is unhelpful and which in fact hides costs. Aldi just compares sales between stores and between months and years. They don't know what their total market share is and never calculate sales/m 2 /store. Compared with total sales per store, these numbers are irrelevant. In their view their competitors are successful DESPITE their accumulation of data.
To be a successful supplier to Aldi, you don't have to pay entrance fees for shelf space, in fact offering this is a sure way to rejection. Aldi work purely on purchase price, net-net. They will not change later and even suggest a valued supplier should increase his prices if they feel he is not making a fair profit. They do not have annual bargaining sessions, but are uncompromising on quality, reliability and accountability. Their share of the German market is generally 30 to 40% (for the products they choose to sell) and they turnover 30-100 times more product than Wal-Mart in their chosen categories.

Each product category across the entire chain is the responsibility of one person working in one store who becomes the resident expert and leads purchasing in this category. They use trade magazines to keep in touch with trends outside their business rather than analyse endlessly. They develop new lines simply and quickly by trial and error. They test 2 or 3 versions of a new line in 3 stores “without fear”. If one sells better than a current line they adopt it across all stores, if not they drop it. Results are obtained quickly and any disasters are small. One notable success was their decision to sell desktop computers, for them an unusual line, but consumers trusted them to provide the necessary quality despite the amazing price, and they sold $120m-worth in 3 days. They're just “groping forward in the dark”, and if that seemed primitive, Mr Brandes reminded us that the words were Einstein's when asked to explain how he came up with Relativity.

Lessons from the Leaders: The Second Mouse Gets the Cheese

This panel discussion, more informative than most thanks to effective chairing by INDA's Peter Mayberry, dealt with written questions from the audience. Not unexpectedly, most questions were answered from the perspective of opportunities for US companies.

What is the next hot nonwoven market?

• Most of the panellists chose to answer geographically. Hassan Bodaghi (HB) of Nordson, presumably thinking of nonwovens machinery, said China , now producing 270,000 tonnes/annum of spunmelt nonwovens would continue expand rapidly for some time. Other markets to watch would be the Middle East, India , Eastern Europe, and Russia .
• Tom Cochran (TC) of Tredegar Film Products also rated China , now moving rapidly into converted products with obvious export possibilities. Turkey would be important as a gateway into Eastern and Central Europe and the Middle East . India had great potential but specially developed low-cost products would be needed to tap into this.
• David Ford (DF) of BBA Fiberweb accepted that China and Asia/Pacific were important but pointed out that the region now had overcapacity in roll-goods so he looked for steady growth in their production of consumer products. For him Latin America showed the greatest prospects for growth of both roll-goods and converted products.
• Jim Schaeffer (JS), CEO of PGI Nonwovens, regarded China , Latin America and Eastern Europe as equally attractive, but cautioned that despite their underdeveloped consumer markets they would only invest in state-of-the-art nonwovens technology.
• Lee Sullivan (LS), CEO of Freudenberg NA, took a longer range product oriented view and argued the case for microfiber and nanofiber nonwovens and filters.

Would further expansion in China be based on Chinese Copies?

• HB felt that protection of designs and intellectual property remained very difficult despite China 's 1995 entry into the World Trade Organisation. Any attempts to prosecute would be slow and difficult.
• TC argued that Western companies asked for trouble by entering the market with premium products which attracted local copying. He felt the need to develop stripped down versions of disposables at lower prices, and hence less attractive to copy.
• LS thought companies which “went native” right from the start would have the best protection. Design the plant to use Chinese machinery, develop contacts with Chinese Universities and ensure that ex-pat management is replaced with local talent at the earliest opportunity. >70% of the investment costs should be spent in China .
• TC felt copying was inevitable, and that we could learn a great deal from how the Chinese took out cost and tailored the product to local needs. (Ultimately the Chinese copy would be better than the original for their market)

What's the best way to deal with the fluctuating exchange rate?

• DF assumed the questioner was trying to get profits back to the US from foreign investments. “Hedging” against currency movements was the well established way of dealing with this. However the best strategy was to stay as local as possible and that meant buying equipment and raw materials in the local market, selling the product in the local market and reinvesting any profits locally until you had a dominant market share.
• LS would ignore exchange rates when planning investments.

What would be the next big enduse?

• DF saw air and water filtration, driven by the need to improve life in the third-world as being key to foreign investments. In the USA , products for the ageing population would become increasingly attractive.
• JS agreed with this, tipping barrier protection for surgery as the leading product in the latter category.
• LS admitted a corporate interest which would lead him to back the increasing replacement of woven and knitted materials by hydroentangled microfiber spunbonds.
• HB linked this to Nanotechnology and the support it was getting from the US government. Microfiber spunbonds had great potential, but we had yet to learn how to get more value from the microfibers in the finished spunbond. (Presumably referring to the problem of splitting multicomponent fibers fully before entangling them)
• TC thought that nonwovens would have to be more elastic to work as textile replacements in short-life garments.

Personnel issues when investing abroad?

• TC would hire locally and transfer management authority as quickly as possible.
• DF and JS concurred: the use of ex-pats should be kept to a minimum.
• LS thought there was a problem arising from the decline of textile schools due to the decline in domestic textile production. However these schools were attracting the best Chinese students who should be retained by US companies when they graduated. They would become the ideal managers for US operations in China .

How do we start up abroad?

• Classically by acquisition, joint venture or “going it alone” (TC)
• In the case of a joint venture, DF thought it essential to have a majority shareholding to ensure that US standards of operation could be applied. He also argued the need for good due-diligence in the case of acquisition.
• India would be difficult to penetrate. Any start-up here would have to produce especially low cost products.

Miscellaneous Wisdom

• Chinese exports to the US far exceed imports so freight-rates to China were particularly attractive at present. (LS)
• Low-cost labour is always a temporary phenomenon so the Chinese advantage here will diminish as their living standards improve. Chinese coastal regions were already getting richer so investments were moving into the more rural inland areas to achieve lower operating costs. (TC)
• PGI's new plant in Columbia is intended to feed all of Latin America not just the local market (JS)
• Investments in Africa – outside South Africa – would be difficult although all panellists had operations in SA and would like to move north when sensible to do so. Demand for nonwovens would remain low for a long time and even long-term investments need a short-term demand (TC)
• China 's 5-year plan to create a large “middle class” represented a big opportunity for expansion of hygienic disposables. TC observed there would be a risk of overcapitalization if everyone “piled in”, JS adding that the 1-child per family restriction linked to the ready availability of grandparents as childminders would reduce the attractiveness of the diaper market.
• Japan is becoming the “aspirational culture” of the region and taking over from US culture.
• The second mouse gets the cheese.

Woman to Women

Julie Plunkett (Consultant) observed that women make 82% of the consumer buying decisions so marketing more directly to women will improve any company's bottom line.
• Women are shoppers by instinct and like to appear smart, so they really will give you the time to present your case and listen to it carefully.
• While they have traditionally had fewer networking opportunities than men, they do cluster, and the internet is now providing a real “community center”.
• Women are always trying to improve themselves and welcome tips on how to get prettier, fitter and smarter. Conferences for women do work (e.g Avon , Heinz), and thought-provoking educational quotes or ideas printed on packaging are read and appreciated.
• Women respond to style and fashion, so packaging with good graphic design, colours that are in fashion, and the right overall style will encourage purchase. “Less copy, more style” works in advertising to women.
• Communicate comfort to attract women to your shop or office. The black leather and stainless-steel look preferred by men does not work. You need fashionable décor with plenty of cushions and table lamps.
• Women support businesses which are overtly involved with the community or charities. Not-for-profit activities should be part of marketing and promoted prominently. In fact the not-for-profit activity you support becomes your marketing arm so its logo should be used liberally! (Corporate giving counts less)
• Women like to share what they learn so they tell everyone when they like something. “Questionnaires are candy” to a woman, so long as she's comfortable she'll give you the time to answer them.
• They seek security, responding well to any promotion which promises to filter out any danger, which makes them feel safe, or feeds their desire to protect their family. They don't care how its made or what it's made of so long as it doesn't do any harm to anyone.
• Where men are simple linear creatures who know what they want and go and buy it, women enter a store prepared to be persuaded to buy anything if the ambience is right. They respond well to bundling or anything that makes them feel they're achieving more than they planned.
• Wellness and well-being are buzzwords that work. “Relaxing, Soothing, Serene, Vital” work a lot better than “it doesn't leak”.
• Life-style marketing which shows self-fulfilled and confident “real” women works best. The use of beautiful models can be counterproductive.

Asked if women really didn't care what a product was made of, Ms Plunkett admitted that if it used a branded ingredient which already connected powerfully with women then this was worth mentioning. Who are most successful at marketing to women? Avon , Home Depot, Lowes. Is “environmentally friendly” important? Yes. Women feel they're the caretakers of continuing life on earth, so products that look EF and claim biodegradability will succeed.

Understanding the Consumer.

Michael McCrary of MARTEC showed videos of November 2004 focus group sessions where housewives talked about wipes. Comments included:
• Ceiling fans were hard to clean…
• As were windows…
• And stairs…
• And baths and showers, though here the problem was many different surfaces which might each need a different wipe, whereas the other problems were related to access.
• Biodegradability was felt to be a good thing.

Current products were criticised for awkward packaging (Tubs), drying out (Flow packs), breaking in use (mops) and lack of environmental friendliness.

Asked if a man interviewing ladies in a formal “unfeminine” environment would get best results, Mr McCrary argued that the ladies thought him “uneducated” in matters of cleaning and therefore gave him fuller explanations. He agreed a woman would have obtained different results.

Store Brands Evolve

Gail Zielinski of AC Nielsen has been mining the database to find out who is driving private label sales growth, discovering that upscale families are increasingly switching from brands. Consumers now trust private label quality and will buy even if the cost savings are not so great.
• PL sales have grown at twice the rate of brands for the last 6 years
• For the nonwovens categories, 20% of purchases go to PL, however…
• PL is a shrinking part of the nonwovens business (8% decline over the last year) due to successful innovations in the branded diaper and femcare lines.
• PL is doing well in wipes and fabric softeners.
• 70% of consumers rate PL quality as equal to or better than the brands.
• For the PL nonwovens categories, savings average 21% c.f. brand pricing. However within this group, PL adult incontinence prices are equal to the brands so the rest of PL looks 27-37% cheaper.
• PL manufacturers and retailers should realise that their products no longer have to be made at the lowest possible cost. There is scope for creating and investing in store brands to command a premium price, somewhere between traditional PL and the market leading brands.
• Some PL offerings are now so good the consumer thinks it's a brand. This is the way forward.
• Continued consolidation of retailers will allow the larger groupings to create their own store identities.

Asked if PL will continue to grow as the economy improves, Ms Zielinski thought it would because PL now sells for more reasons than just price. Who does PL best? Aldi, Trader Joes, Costco. Does the Nielsen data include Walmart? No. In diapers, PL needs to catch up with the brands to reverse the loss of share.

Household Cleaning Trends

Brian Sansoni, VP Communications for the Soap and Detergents Association (SDA) said their mission was to enhance health and quality of life. For our meeting he introduced new data on why people love wipes and how they are using them:
• Portability (26%), ease of disposal of germs (26%), killing of germs (13%), Fast action (12%) and multipurpose (10%) were the main reasons for buying a wipe.
• Cleaning counters/appliances (23%), disinfecting surfaces (23%), cleaning skin (17%), cleaning bathrooms (11%), dusting furniture (6%) and cleaning floors (5%) were the favourite uses of wipes at home.
• 24% used a wipe once a week, 20% twice a week, 18% daily and 18% more than twice a day.
• 41% chose a product for its cleaning effectiveness, 23% for value, 15% for the brand, 10% for its durability and 4% for the package size.
• Only 28% are loyal to any particular product (31% of women are loyal)

Each year they commission International Communications Research to survey 1000+ Americans to elucidate changes in cleaning habits:

• In 2002, 2/3rds of respondents admitted spring cleaning, with kitchen and bathrooms at the top of their list. Women aged 35-54 were most likely to do it, but 18-24 and 55-64 year old males admitted similar tendencies. Men prefer cleaning garages and basements, while women prefer kitchens and bathrooms.
• In 2003, three-quarters said they would spring-clean, half said they didn't have time to clean, and one in four said they cleaned their home to keep it cleaner.
• In 2004, 88% considered cleaning important for keeping the family happy healthy and safe, and only 8% regarded it as a chore.

Questions from the audience brought out yet more data. 81% of wipes were used to disinfect, 76% to clean, 76% for toilets, 58% for hands, 44% for dusting, 35% for cars, 29% for windows, and 14% for removing stains on clothes. 1 in 10 families use cleaning services. Brand loyalty in wipes is very low compared with liquid cleaners. Environmental issues were of little concern, but of the 13% who felt they mattered, 35% worried about the chemicals, 32% about non-biodegradability, 26% about the waste, 6% about the smell, and 6% about bacteria developing resistance. Non-wipes users are over 55, high-school educated, earning under $25,000/year and living in the South.

The conclusion: “companies ahead of the convenience curve will continue to define marketplace success”.

Visionary Award Presentations

Resolution Print Media

Frank Baker of BBA described how layers of Reemay Elite TM (spunbond polyester) were combined and coated to make a very ink-receptive medium for ink-jet printers with advantages over premium photo paper. It was matt and canvas-like in appearance, giving a rich texture and zero run-off in the wet. Archival properties were excellent and it had 20-70x the tear strength of photo-paper.

Oral-B Brush Ups

Peter Gladstone of Gillette (USA) argued that between toothbrushing (most effective/least convenient toothcare) and chewing gums (least effective/most convenient) there existed a gap which could be filled by a disposable cleaner worn on a finger. The cleaning side was a thermal-bonded bulky spunbond laminated to a thin waterproof spunbond. The bulky spunbond was thermally embossed* and impregnated with cleaner and said to remove 60% of the plaque c.f. a toothbrush. The elastic backing allowed the one size to fit snugly over any finger size. Market research indicated it would be purchased in addition to current toothcare products and used mainly away from home.

Huggies Disposable Wash Cloths

Clay Mahaffey of Kimberly Clark introduced these soap-moistened baby wash cloths as the convenient, gentle, hygienic and always clean alternative to soap and sponge. They were made from what looked like Huggies training pants side-panels, being a bulky elasticated Co-form nonwoven, which had been impregnated with a baby wash formula. Given this “on the shelf” base sheet, an existing baby wash formula and outsourced converting and packaging, they had been able to launch the product within 12 months of concept (the concept itself being based on a J&J product launched 18 months ago). KC now claim a 62% share of a segment that has grown 55% in the year since introduction.

Oil Filter

Markus Kolczyk of Mann & Hummel ( Germany ) introduced a fully synthetic oil filter intended to replace the traditional phenolic-impregnated cellulosic product. The new filter was lightweight, and comprised just 2 components, a meltblown/spunbond gradient-structure composite on a knitted monofil support, pleated and held in shape and sealed by polymer end-caps. Benefits include extended service intervals, higher oil flow rates or lower pressure drop and higher dirt holding capacity.

White Cloud Soft-Fit Training Pants

Donald Sheldon of Tyco Healthcare (USA) claimed the pulp-free core in the White Cloud training pant was the successful first commercial use of a technology which would, if applied to all diapers save 3 million tonnes/year of woodpulp or 12 million trees. Furthermore the low weight and volume of the pulp-free products would cut the landfill required for used diapers in half. Trucking costs would be reduced by 80%, and the use of a continuous filament tow to carry the superabsorbent dramatically reduced the space and power needs in diaper conversion. The tow was spread and fed by a simple low power air blower, which replaced the complex and messy pulp defibration and air-laying equipment. The product was exceeding Wal-Mart's expectations being 25% ahead of budget since launch.

Love'N Napkins and Pantyliners

Marco Benedetti of WIP Srl ( Italy ) described the Wellness Innovation Project as a young independent company dedicated to using eco-friendly materials and technologies. The Love'N pads use organic cotton spunlace covers (on the pantyliner) or thermal bonded poly lactic acid (PLA – on the napkin), starch-based superabsorbents (Lysac) and starch-based films (Mater-Bi) in the backsheets and packaging. Tests have shown these to be equivalent to conventional products and they are being offered at prices in line with those of the leading brands. Waitrose in the UK was the retailer involved.

…And the Winner…

Obtained from the secret ballot of the remaining audience, and said to be the closest in the history of the Awards, was the Resolution Print Media from BBA .