Posted September 23, 2014

 

CARY, N.C. – INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry and North Carolina State University’s Nonwovens Institute (NWI) announce a new jointly organized series of nonwovens short courses named “The Professional Development Series.”

 

The new portfolio of six courses will harmonize and unify each organization’s nonwoven training courses into a single series starting with the nonwovens’ basics, increasing to intermediate and capping with an advanced series of product development, nanofibers and microfibers, fabric property development and spunbond & meltblown technology. Starting in 2015, the series will give industry professionals targeted and flexible short course opportunities to impart knowledge of nonwovens and advance career development goals.

Since 1998, INDA has offered it’s highly successful one-and-a half day Elementary Nonwovens Training Course and its three-day Advanced Nonwovens Training Course to INDA members and industry participants. Simultaneously, NWI has offered a series of advanced training courses from three to five days in duration, with one course quite similar to the INDA Advanced course. 

 

The Professional Development Series starts Jan. 21, 2015 and offers Continuing Education Units to Intermediate and Advanced Series participants. The full series includes:

 

• Elementary: With a focus toward professionals who are new to nonwovens, this one-and-a-half day course, conducted by INDA at INDA’s headquarters here, reviews the basic nomenclature, production processes, fabric attributes, market uses and trends of nonwovens. To be held in January, June and September 2015.
   

• Intermediate Nonwovens Training: Designed for industry professionals familiar with nonwovens or those with a more technical background, this new three-and-a-half-day course combines INDA’s Advanced Course with elements of NWI’s Introduction to Nonwoven Products & Processes and will now include sessions at both INDA’s offices in Cary, N.C. and NWI’s state-of-the-art pilot lines and science/analytics labs at the NC State University campus in nearby Raleigh, N.C.  NWI’s instructional staff and industry guest speakers will contribute to the educational content scheduled for March, August and November 2015.
   

• Advanced Series: Created for industry participants looking for deeper knowledge in specific nonwoven areas, the Advanced Series will be located at the NWI at NC State University and be taught by NWI instructors. The Advanced Series will consist of three-and-a-half day courses in Fabric Property Development and Characterization, Introduction to Spunbond & Meltblown Technology, and Nonwoven Nanofiber & Microfiber Fundamentals and Characterization. There will also be a five-day Capstone Course on Nonwoven Product Development led by NWI instructors. All Advanced Series courses are offered once a year. The Advanced Series Introduction to Spunbond & Meltblown Technology starts Feb. 2-6, 2015.

“We are delighted to partner with the Nonwovens Institute at NC State University to combine our training course offerings into a single Professional Development Series that is easily understandable for members of INDA, members of NWI, and industry participants from the nonwovens and related industries,” said Dave Rousse, INDA president. “Combining INDA’s course content with NWI’s pilot lines and labs enriches the experience for attendees. This collaboration removes doubt and confusion about which courses fit best, and should enable more efficient and assured use of these well designed courses to meet the professional development needs of our industry.”

 

Behnam Pourdeyhimi, Ph.D., executive director of The Nonwovens Institute and Associate Dean of the NC State University’s College of Textiles, said, “Our primary mission is as a teaching institution training future leaders. We have assembled the best facilities, faculty and staff to do just that. INDA has a great reach into the industry that can generate awareness of the resources available to educate and advance nonwovens. Therefore, combining the strengths of each and eliminating duplication will result in a superior experience for all. This harmonized series of courses will appeal to a broad group and well serve a significant need in this industry. We are very excited to be able to do this together”.

 

For the full 2015 series of courses and dates, visit http://www.inda.org/education/.