How to make the right disposable hygiene product?

Addressing the ongoing demand for the disposable hygiene products namely feminine hygiene products, baby diapers, adult incontinence products, nappy pads, etc., BCH successfully conducted a technical symposium – How to Make the ´Right´ Disposable Hygiene Product? on the 10 September 2014 at Leela Palace hotel in Chankyapuri, New Delhi.

BCH along with a consortium of international companies, which mainly constituted either machine manufacturers or raw material suppliers such as Avery Dennison, Curt G. Joa, Fibertex Personal Care, Fulflex, Henkel, Optima, Osprey and Sandvik, presented to India´s business community the right way forward. At a time when the Indian manufacturer is ready to grab every opportunity to feed a growing demand, it becomes quintessential to know about advanced technologies and important prerequisites for decision making, which were very well talked aloud openly during the presentations.

What was particularly interesting in this symposium was the impressive presence of more than 100 attendees, which comprised of manufacturers (convertors) of feminine hygiene products, baby diapers & adult incontinence products as well as the new and aspiring entrants, who were eager to hear about the latest developments in this sector and understand the ´wrongs´ and the ´rights´ that may take place. To name a few, there was representation from Procter & Gamble, SCA, Unicharm, Nobel Hygiene, Emami, HLL Lifecare and many more noteworthy established companies of India. Further highlights of this event included the much talked about award ceremony, the panel discussion on ´2020 and beyond´ and the cocktail evening, which offered a great opportunity to network in a relaxed atmosphere.

The symposium had a very positive feeling with Ritika Gupta from BCH, who set the tone of the event by appraising the current market scenario for the disposable hygiene products followed by Michael Gritzbach from Curt G Joa who shared his insight about the importance of right decision making when it comes to investing in machinery may it be for feminine hygiene products or diapers. The succeeding session began with Christoph Ritter from Osprey, who conferred about clean & efficient air – system design for effective plant running and Ajay Sahni from Fibertex Personal Care, who spoke about nonwovens that are ideal for hygiene products. Thereafter Michel Verstraeten from Henkel gave a brief about operational excellence in hot melt utilisation during the course of manufacturing. The subsequent sessions had, Patrick Curtin and Daniel Marchal both from Fulflex talking about the importance of the perfect fit and comfort, which can be brought about through elastics, which are critical components of these products. Birgitta Van den Driessche from Avery Dennison focused on the innovations in production and the importance of the right closure systems which are used for diapers. The summing up session had Paolo Ocleppo from Sandvik Hyperion putting across the value added cutting solutions, which are again very important and Wilfried Laser from Optima Nonwovens who aquainted us with the perfect packaging for disposable hygiene products.

The symposium ended on a very visionary note with a panel discussion amongst the distinguished speakers and the audience. The emphasis was to discuss the future of the disposable hygiene industry of India and its upcoming future trends. All were enthusiastic enough to wear their thinking caps and discuss the future of this exciting industry in India from 2020 and beyond. The most discussed issue was how the Indian industry will address the sustainability factor in the near future and all the speculative ideas were put forward regarding how the products and processes would evolve in the coming times.

One major highlight of the event was the award ceremony. Stalwarts of this Industry in India were felicitated with a heartfelt applause during the event. The awards were<