Extrusion Group™, LLC

The Australian Government will invest $37 million to develop a world first Australian Future Fibres Research and Innovation Centre (AFFRIC) at Deakin University.

The project will support:

* More than doubling of laboratory space from 1500m2 to 4000m2;
* 3 additional research groups;
* 220-270 additional researchers;
* 50 additional Australian and international research collaborations;
* The co-location of 86 CSIRO researchers; and
* 120 onsite jobs during the construction period. (more…)

Ahlstrom Group, a leading developer and manufacturer of nonwovens and specialty papers, celebrates the inauguration of its new medical nonwovens production facility in Mundra, Gujarat state, northwest coast of India. The plant produces medical nonwoven fabrics for the healthcare industry in India and Asia and employs initially 70 people. The Mundra plant is Ahlstrom’s first manufacturing facility in India and among its biggest in Asia. (more…)

WARWICK, R.I., May 24 /PRNewswire/ — Biomedical Structures LLC (BMS), a leading supplier of custom-designed biomaterials and textiles used in advanced clinical applications from orthopedics and reconstructive surgery to tissue engineering, announced that it has completed a private equity financing with Ampersand Ventures. Biomedical Structures has delivered strong and profitable growth since its inception as an independent privately held company in 2003. Ampersand’s funding will enable BMS to meet the increasingly complex demands of the medical device industry with expanded capabilities in service, technology platforms, and breakthrough biomaterials. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“Biomedical textiles are integral to the current and next-generation devices of some of the world’s largest integrated medical device manufacturers. BMS has done a remarkable job positioning itself as a leader in the field, allowing it to capitalize on the industry’s strong growth, particularly in exciting new areas such as tissue engineering,” said Ampersand Partner, Todd Rainville. “Ampersand is thrilled to have invested in this promising business, and we look forward to working closely with the BMS management team.” (more…)

Rising production costs narrowed Avgol’s operating income in the first quarter of 2010. The company, which makes nonwoven textiles for diapers and wet-wipes, reported sales of $63.8 million for the first quarter of 2010, up 17% against the parallel quarter. But its cost of sales rose to 79% of revenues, compared with 70% in the parallel quarter. That reduced its operating profit by 33%, to $7.4 million, the company reported yesterday. Net profit attributable to shareholders dropped 34% against the parallel quarter, to $3.5 million. Cash flow in the quarter came to $9 million, down 42% against the same period of 2009. (Lior Zeno )

The Hartmann Group  – which bases many of its products on nonwoven fabrics – continued its strong performance in the first quarter of 2010, despite deeper budget cuts and increasing price pressures in national healthcare systems.
The German healthcare company recorded sales growth of 4.4% compared to the same quarter in 2009, to €393.4 million, and consolidated operating profit up by 37.9% to €20.5 million.
With an increase in sales of 5.1%, the three medical core segments contributed significantly to total sales growth. (more…)

MINNETONKA, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–NatureWorks LLC has selected U.S. Pacific Nonwovens Industry, Ltd. as the exclusive agent for Ingeo^™ spun-melt (spun-bond and melt-blown) nonwovens in the Asia Pacific Region.

“Innovation Takes Root, Advances in Ingeo™ Fibers and Nonwovens”

The new relationship between NatureWorks, the manufacturer of Ingeo^™ biopolymer, made from plants, not oil, and U.S. Pacific was announced in April at the international biopolymers conference, “Innovation Takes Root 2010,” in Dallas. The conference, organized by NatureWorks, also featured announcements about several additional advances with Ingeo^™ in fibers and nonwovens.

U.S. Pacific Nonwovens Chief Technology Officer Dr. Larry Wadsworth said, “We see huge potential for readily substituting Ingeo^™ for PET on many spun-bond lines in China and other countries in Asia.” (more…)

Technical Absorbents Ltd (TAL) reports considerable success at the recent 17th China International Tissue and Disposable Hygiene Products Exhibition (CIHPEC).
The UK-based company travelled to Nanjing for the three-day exhibition to further promote its superabsorbent technology to the growing disposable hygiene market in China.
TAL is owned by Bluestar Fibres Ltd, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China National Bluestar Corporation, which in-turn is wholly-owned by ChemChina – one of China’s fastest growing chemical groups. For this reason, increasing the company’s presence in Asia – and raising further awareness of its innovative super absorbent fibre – is of particular importance to the company.
In addition to the manufacture of Oasis SAF, TAL toll manufactures nonwovens, yarns, woven fabrics and finished consumer goods – all containing Oasis. This is as a result of the relationships it has built with some of the world’s leading specialist fibre converters, roll-goods producers and end product manufacturers. It is now working to develop similar networks with Asian companies in order to enhance routes to market within this region.
The hygiene sector is one of a number of key industries for Oasis SAF, due to its superior fluid absorption properties and ability to produce super soft and discreet absorbent core designs without the need for containment systems.
“TAL’s experience in the disposable hygiene sector has allowed it to develop Oasis SAF-containing fabrics which deliver improved user comfort levels and ultra-low re-wet performance,” said TAL business development manager Dave Hill.  “In addition, Oasis SAF offers excellent conversion, minimum wastage and consistent performance. These are benefits desired by both hygiene product manufacturers and the end-user.
“During CIHPEC TAL there was a lot interest from hygiene producers, particularly those interested in the development of new ultra-thin femme-pads and from diaper manufacturers looking to challenge traditional manufacturing techniques and offer something new to the consumer.”

Man-made fibre output in Japan fell in 2009 for the ninth consecutive year. Furthermore, the decline, at 22.0%, was more than twice as fast as any previous fall during the nine-year period. Output of filament yarn plunged by 29.9% while that of staple fibres decreased by a substantial 15.1%. The fall in filament yarn output reflected double digit declines in all the main fibre types. In the case of staple fibres, output of all the main synthetic fibre types fell at double digit rates but the drop in cellulosic staple fibres was confined to 4.3%.

Japan’s man-made fibre plants are being poorly utilised. In synthetics, capacity utilisation plunged to less than 50% in 2009 as output declined by as much as 24.3%. In cellulosics, capacity utilisation was a more sustainable 75.6%. Nonetheless, this was its lowest rate since 2000—due to a 10.1% drop in output. (more…)

The Pact Group, one of the leading plastic packaging manufacturers in Australasia, is now offering its customers the latest in global closure technology, thanks to a license agreement with one of the world’s largest closure and capping solutions providers, Closure Systems International (CSI) for Australia and New Zealand.

(more…)