Posted April 21, 2014
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND AND NEUMÜNSTER, GERMANY – With a specially designed production line, Oerlikon Neumag said it is addressing the growing need of manufacturers of polyester and polypropylene staple fibers to also be able to make small production units in a cost-effective manner.
Staple FORCE S 1000, which was recently unveiled at the industry trade fair INDEX in Geneva, achieves this with an exceptionally high production speed of 1,000 meters per minute, Oerlikon Neumag said. The system also is simple and offers fast handling, which shortens changing times and significantly reduces surplus quantities, the company added.
With a production capacity of 15 tons per day, the system appeals not only to manufacturers of manmade fibers but also to nonwovens manufacturers as it facilitates the cost-effective integration of fiber production into in-house production, Oerlikon Neumag said.
Oerlikon Neumag makes low-volume production for nonwovens economic
INNOVATIONS
"Moving forward, we intend to apply our broad technological expertise in manmade fibers to achieve further growth with machine and system solutions for special applications," said Stefan Kross, CEO of the Oerlikon Manmade Fibers Segment.
The global market for manmade fibers such as polyester, polypropylene and bicomponents used in the production of nonwovens grows around 5 percent each year, according to Oerlikon Neumag. In 2015, total demand is expected to amount to 3.2 million tons for carded nonwovens alone, the company added.
They are primarily used in geotextiles for civil engineering, in filtration materials, for application in the automotive industry in insulation and interiors and for numerous special applications. The market requires both smaller production quantities that can be delivered on short notice and cost-effective manufacturing processes.
The key to cost-effective, flexible operation is the system's compact design, Oerlikon Neumag said. The Staple Force S 1000 – FORCE stands for “Fibers on Request and Compact Engineering" – is designed for simple, fast handling. It offers significantly faster changing times compared with conventional production lines, the manufacturer added. This markedly reduces waste.
Another central component of the system's cost efficiency is its production speed. At 1,000 meters per minute, it achieves speeds not seen before in one-step processes, the company said.. To this end, Oerlikon Neumag adapted a stretching process that has been successfully used in carpet yarn plants for years. By omitting the steam and water-bath processes, the new procedure uses significantly less energy and water, which saves money and is better for the environment.