In spite of slowdown in nonwovens, following general economy, the global per capita consumption is expected to grow from 1 kg to 2011 to 2 kg by 2025. And nonwoven and nonwoven-based products find wide applications in personal & healthcare, infrastructure, air & water purification and mobility. These were disclosed by Jean-Michel Anspach, Technical Director of EDANA, the international association for nonwoven and nonwoven-related industries, based in Brussels, Belgium.
Anspach was speaking at a symposium on Hi-Tech Application of Nonwovens, oragnised by the Indian technical Textile Association (ITTA) at Hotel Leela in Mumbai recently. The welcome address was given by Pramod Khosla, Chairman, ITTA, and the Chief Guest address by Sujit Gulati, Jt Secretary, Ministry of Textiles. A handbook on nonwovens was released and Shashi Singh, Executive Director of ITTA.
In the Technical Session I, introduction was by session chairperson, Dr KS Sundraraman, Executive Director, Shiva Texyarn Ltd. This was followed by four presentations: Challenges and opportunities for the global nonwoven industry by Jean-Michel Anspach; Innovations: Growth Driver of Nonwoven by Milind Hardikar, Executive Director, Welspun India Ltd; Emerging opportunities for PP NW in Agro and Hygiene Application by Akchaya Kumar Sinha, Reliance Industries Ltd.
In the Technical Session II, there were three presentations:Functionalisation of Nonwovens by Dr Michael Bildhauer, CHT R BEITLICH GMBH; Nonwoven Felts for High Temp. Filtration by Vinay Karulkar, MD, BWF Tec India Private Ltd; Application of Non-wovens in Thermal Management of Perishable and Temperature Sensitive Products by Dr Srinivas Cherukupalli, Technical Research Scientist, DuPont.
Another three presentations followed in the Technical Session III: Nonwoven Converted Products´ Export Opportunities by Maréchal Desmet, Desmet Business Group, The Netherlands; Critical Applications of Nonwovens in Battery Industry and Pollution Control by SK Roy, MD, KE Technical Textiles Pvt Ltd; Viral Barrier Fabrics and Pandemic Preparedness: A Standard Based Perspective by Mayank Arora, Country Head, Lakeland Gloves and Safety Apparel Pvt Ltd.
The Technical Session IV included: Coating of Different Types of Nonwovens by Pankaj Kapoor, CMD, Park Non Woven; Conductive Nonwovens for EMI Shielding by Dr Ashok Desai, Director, BTRA; High Performance Applications of Nonwovens by Dr PA Khatwani, HOD ´ Textile Technology, Sarvajanik College of Engineering and Technology, Surat. The symposium ended with a lively Q&A session and summing up of the proceedings.