Asia will be the focus of the world’s nonwovens industry in May as ANEX’09 and SINCE ’09 get underway in Shanghai, China. The merger of these two extremely successful exhibitions presents the perfect opportunity for exhibitors—including non­wovens manufacturers, raw material suppliers and machinery and equip­ment specialists as well as other nonwovens industry stakeholders—to showcase their latest innovations and network with other companies.    

    The event will be held May 20-22  in two separate exhibition areas IN­TEX and Shanghaimart—which will be connected by a special walkway. In total, it will cover 16,000 square meters and organizers are hoping to attract more than 12,000 visitors. There will be more than 300 exhibitors there who will be there to feature their latest innovations, services and up-to-date nonwovens technology featuring raw materials to nonwovens and high performance fabrics to processing and converting equipment to nonwovens and technical textiles. Essentially all the world’s leading suppliers will be part of the exhibition, according to organizers.

    In addition to the exposition, ANEX will feature Technical Presentations, where exhibitors can present their products and services in a specially designated area of the exhibition hall. Hour-long technical presentations will be held each day of the show and are free to all visitors.


China’s Market

In the wake of global economic integration, the world economy has generally been on the rise for the past few years, with Asian economic growth being particularly outstanding. A­mong the Asian economies, the growth of China, India and Vietnam have astonished the world, with their GDPs having grown at the rate of over 8% every year. The GDP of China grew more than 10% in 2007. Hence, it is obvious that the Asian nonwoven industry is continuing to grow at a high speed.

    The total output of nonwovens in the world were more than five millions tons in 2006 and Asia produced over one-third of them (or more than 1.85 millions tons), topping the world. While the Asian economy is expected to continue to grow at high speeds in the future, the massive population of Asia provides a huge market for nonwovens. With a booming economic growth and ever-increasing living standards in China, the demand for nonwovens is also on the rise. Last year, the output of nonwovens produced in China approached one million tons and the number of production lines for nonwovens being used in China exceeded 2000.

     Among the production lines, two-thirds of the equipment (most of which are imported) needed upgrading or modification. The output of nonwovens in China can hardly satisfy the demand in China and some of the products are still dependent on  imports. 

    This growth has created increased demand for booth space at ANEX’09+SINCE’09, which has been expanded into two separate exhibition areas, INTEX and Shanghai­mart, covering a total area of 16,000 square meters. Therefore, it’s expected that ANEX’09+SINCE’09 will provide an excellent platform for the display of a wide spectrum of new products and innovations, equipments, new technologies, materials and services, designed to help global nonwovens companies enhance their image,  es­tablish new contacts and find  new businesses. At the same time, it also provides a great opportunity for the gathering of professionals from the nonwovens industry.

    ANEX’09+SINCE’09 will definitely be a main focus of the world’s nonwovens industry. It will help to reshape the new structure of global nonwovens industry and further enhance healthy and fast growth for the industry. Exhibi­tors are already planning what they are going to present at the exhibition.


A. Celli Nonwovens

A specialist in winders, slitter-rewinders and roll handling solutions like Slittopack, A. Celli Nonwovens will have a booth at ANEX. The company   also produces automatic knives positioning systems, Slittomatic; shaft handling/core cutting systems, Core­matic and airlaid web forming technology, Wingformer.


Advanced Fabrics

(SAAF) will show an extended range of spunmelt medical fabrics, including additions to the Medalon range of alcohol resultant/antistatic products and targeted performance fabrics. These fabrics offer optimal value for the different medical standards employed worldwide. Additionally, the company will showcase lightweight spunbond fabrics made on its latest line.


Cotton Incorporated

Cotton is the world’s most plentiful, natural fiber and ANEX exhibitor Cotton Incorporated is dedicated to advancing its role in nonwovens. Among cotton’s attributes are that it’s soft, natural and sustainable and annually renewable and grown worldwide. In its virgin state, cotton is hydrophobic; after washing or scouring hydrophillic. At the end of its life, this fiber biodegrades. At ANEX09, Cotton Incorporated plans to share information about the unique qualities cotton can bring to nonwovens as well as the application of technology and best practices. Commercially available products and development concepts will be featured at our booth.


Elsner Engineering Works

Converting machinery specialist Els­ner Engineering Works designs and manufactures converting and packaging machinery to convert master rolls of nonwoven materials into consumer rolled or flat-folded products such as consumer, personal care and disinfectant wipes, adult and industrial wipes, baby wipes, surgical drapes, fabric softener sheets, surgical sponges and speed sheets. Special complementary machines such as tub and canister loaders for folded and rolled wipes are also available.


Erhardt + Leimer

Erhardt + Leimer is an internationally operating company and a market leader for web guiding, tension control and surface inspection systems in the nonwovens converting and handling industry, running successfully at local and international companies. Continuous development and improvement of products, together with customers, reportedly helps Erhardt + Leimer offer the best technology for a competitive price.


EPS/Shanghai Expansion Light Industry Machinery

Shanghai Expansion Light Industry Machinery Co., Ltd. (EPS) is a professional enterprise in manufacturing airlaid production lines. EPS provides market consultancy, technology development, engineering design, machinery manufacturing, project implementation and customer technical services. Comprehensive and professional turn­key project service and customer operations services are both offered.

    EPS mainly makes airlaid production lines, airlaid and spunlace compound  equipment. ZGJ Airlaid production lines—the products are developed by the company’s own technicians. The result is lines with high performance and low consumption with widths ranging from 800 to 3000 mm and speeds of 40-300 meters per minute.

    Through decades of endeavouring, EPS is now the leading maker of Chinese airlaid production lines. The ZGJ2100/200 airlaid production line that was designed and manufactured by EPS for Fiberweb in Tianjing, China, centralized performing all the advantages of the second generation airlaid production line. On this basis, EPS has been developing the third generation airlaid production line with faster, larger capabilities, lower consumption as well as better process optimization.


Fibertex

A Danish producer of a full range of nonwovens, Fibertex will be at ANEX. The company makes lightweight spunbond nonwovens for hygiene applications in Denmark and Malay­sia as well as needlepunched nonwovens for a number of industrial applications at plants in Denmark and the Czech Republic. Key industrial markets include automotives and geotextiles.


Ginni Nonwovens

Ginni Nonwovens, India’s largest spunlace maker, will be showing e­quipment made on its production line, which was supplied by  Rieter Perfojet in France. Started in 2007, this spunlace line has already made products for many of the world’s leading converters. The facility is ISO 9001-2000 and ISO 14001-2004 certified. The factory is located strategically near the western port of Mumbai.


Huntsman Ltd.

A global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals, Huntsman Ltd. will be present at ANEX. As a leading provider of integrated textile solutions, Huntsman Textile Effects provides hundreds of effect chemicals for adding value to nonwovens. Product groups include Phobol—innovative fluorochemicals for topical finish on medical, filtration, wallpaper and automotive nonwovens; Flovan—flame retardants for various applications, environmentally friendly and hologen free; and Dicrylan—a compound for coating applications.


NSC nonwoven

NSC nonwoven designs, builds and supplies turnkey nonwoven lines for spunlacing, needlepunching and thermal bonding nonwovens. These lines are equipped with a supervisory control assistance system including production recipes, maintenance and assistance to line management. NSC nonwoven is a worldwide, major supplier of cards, crosslappers, drafters, needlooms, winders and slitter re­winders.


Reicofil

At ANEX, Reifenhauser Reicofil will present its spunbonding and composite systems, bicomponent technology, Reicofil melblown systems and breathable film composites. Reicofil offers project planning, process development, line manufacturing, customer training, process and product know-how.


Rieter Nonwovens Systems

Rieter Nonwovens Systems will present its range of nonwovens technologies such as spunlace and spunbond as well as its latest SpunJet technology at ANEX. Described as a marriage of spunlaid and spunlace technologies inline, SpunJet requires no calendering or needlepunching to offer the advantage of spunlaid without the inconveniences of thermal bonding via calender which can affect the fabric’s physical properties.


Technical Absorbents

Super Absorbent Fiber (SAF) manufacturer TAL will seek to raise further awareness of its technology within the Asian nonwovens and technical textiles industry and attract interested companies from key market sectors.

    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.

    In addition to the manufacture of SAF, TAL also makes nonwovens, yarns, woven fabrics and finished consumer goods–all containing SAF. This is the result of the relationships it has built with some of the world’s leading specialist fiber 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.

    “We gained a lot of interest from many different markets when we exhibited at CINTE last October,” explained TAL business development manager Dave Hill. “We are hoping to build on this success even further in May. We pride ourselves on our ability to create new and innovative absorbent solutions and so would like to speak to anyone who is searching for this type of technology. TAL already has an agent based in Shanghai and he will also be present the stand to help answer any questions.”

    TAL will have three distinct display areas on its stand. It will display different fiber grades, a range of converted fabrics and yarns that are suitable for different applications—e.g. apparel, hygiene, dental, medical, food packaging, cable yarns and tapes and technical textiles etc.–and a number of finished goods.    

    “We want to promote our involvement in all areas of the supply chain,” continued Mr. Hill. “Due to our excellent industry knowledge and contacts, we are able to work with many different parties to develop new products and markets. Hopefully our stand will help us to communicate this message clearly.”