Reifenhäuser Reicofil is supporting the Nonwovens Institute (NWI) of North Carolina State University, USA with a further cooperation: After the installation of a melt blown plant in 2011, Reicofil will now deliver an RF®4 BiCo spunbond line, which will be configured especially for trial purposes of the institute.
Apart from the Reicofil spinning tower as central technology, some existing high value components of the former Andritz Perfojet labour plant will be incorporated in the line, including a water hydroentaglement system and calender from Andritz, as well as a dryer and a winder.
With this configuration, the Nonwovens Institute will be equipped in an optimized way for a wide application range. The line is expected to be in operation by the end of 2016 and will be housed in a new SpunMelt R&D facility in Raleigh, NC, on NC State’s Centennial Campus.
With the expansion of line capacity with this new asset, the NWI continues its investment in modern fiber and spunbond technology. The aim of the investment is the development of innovative applications apart from hygiene.
The pilot line shall be used for both the development program of the Nonwovens Institute and the research and development objectives for the industrial sector. Customers have thus a further contact point for their developments on Reicofil plants in addition to the capacities of Reicofil’s R & D Center in Troisdorf and STFI in Chemnitz, Germany.