Transport & Aerospace

After the success of its 2010 Nonwovens Symposium in Baveno, which drew more than 200 delegates, EDANA has announced the programme for the first Eurasia Nonwovens Symposium, which will take place at the Sheraton Ataköy Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey from the 10-11 May 2012.

Over the past decade there has been a marked increase in the development of nonwoven technologies for the successful processing of alternative raw materials, including natural fibres, and for the recycling of waste materials.

Swiss high-tech group Oerlikon has now become a Premium Partner of the Sauber F1 Team. The group, which owns Oerlikon Textile, is intensifying its involvement with the Swiss racing team, and the Oerlikon logo will be prominently displayed on both sides of the upper engine cover of the new Sauber C31-Ferrari as well as on team gear and equipment.

In spite of an increase in production for 2011 by Italian textile machinery manufacturers, forecasts remain cautious for the current year. Provisional figures for 2011 for Italy’s textile machinery sector show a further increase in manufacturing production and exports, following a good recovery in 2010 and a recession hit 2009.

The world market for technical textiles was estimated at US$127.2bn in 2010, with Asia accounting for US$59.9bn, or 47% of the total. China, which is now the world’s largest producer of technical textiles in volume terms, is estimated to have around 11% of the industry’s total global exports by value. Moreover, China’s apparent consumption is forecast to grow at around 10% a year to 2015, and the country will continue to be a significant importer, particularly for high-tech products.

Karl Mayer is aiming to extend its contact in the Chinese technical textiles market when it takes part in a series of VDMA organised symposia across China in March.

Bayer MaterialScience has begun construction of a multipurpose production plant for polyurethane coating raw materials at Chempark Leverkusen.

Aiming to provide information on the entire range of nonwoven bonding and converting technologies, the agenda for the inaugural Converting and Bonding (CAB) 2012 Conference includes sessions ranging from Machinery Technology to Market Applications as part of the three-day event, set for April 17-19, 2012 at the Hyatt Regency in Greenville, S.C.

The 7th Annual Public Conference of the European Textile Technology Platform will take place on 29 – 30 March 2012 in Brussels. The scope of this one-and-a-half-day event will be to present and discuss how future EU research, innovation and industry policies and programmes can better support the research and innovation efforts of the more than 140,000 small to mid-sized companies in the EU textile and clothing sector.

Disruptive RST technology company Alexium has begun the commercial roll-out of its flame retardant, oil and water repellent nylon, which it says has met key technical milestones for flame retardancy, water repellency and durability.