01.05.15
The hygiene industry’s leading machinery makers are constantly improving their equipment and offerings to follow the key trends in the market. As the demand for thinner diapers, inco and fem care products continues, machinery suppliers are following through with new, high-tech innovations. And, as customers call for greener, more eco-friendly equipment, manufacturers of these machines are making sustainability a top priority with their newest creations.
The following is a review of the latest machinery and services offered from the nonwovens industry’s leading hygiene machinery manufacturers.
Fameccanica
Established in 1975, Fameccanica is worldwide leader in the design and construction of machinery for the manufacturing of baby and adult incontinence diapers and sanitary napkins.
With the continuing growth of the adult incontinence segment, Fameccanica is focused on creating pioneering new products. Alessandro D'Andrea, marketing manager at Fameccanica, says the most recent market trends respond to a need “for innovation in the adult incontinence segment, mostly for new products with better fit and comfort, while keeping acceptable production costs by introducing solutions for cost saving—e.g. zero trim, in-line processes, etc.”
Even with adult incontinence being the hot topic in the industry, D'Andrea adds that Fameccanica didn’t have to adapt to this trend as offering a wide range of machinery types and innovation has always been customary for the company, in the constant effort to anticipate market demands.
With an eye on adult incontinence, Fameccanica developed adult pant diaper model FIX P5X, a high-speed machine for pull-on protective underwear. This machine uses a unique technology for in-line processing of breathable, elastic laminated waistbands with ultrasonically bonded transpiring spots (a Fameccanica patent) to create a discrete and soft feeling product with maximum fit and comfort. The machine is also available in a version able to handle the traditional threads waist elasticization, as well as in a flexible version to produce both product types.
Another key innovation from Fameccanica is the new FIX B2X, a medium capacity machine for adult incontinence pant diapers, available for both the ultrasonically bonded film laminate waistband version and the traditional threads waist elasticization machine.
Adding to Fameccanica’s innovations in adult inco is the “Best” Zero Trim Ear Technology. “Best” is a Fameccanica patent solution for asymmetrical back ears sans trim that can allow “€-7-digit” savings per year. It is now available both on the high capacity machine model FIX P5, and on the entry-level machine model FIX B2—another recent addition to the Fameccanica machinery portfolio.
The FIX B2 is available as standard, in the configuration for the manufacturing of leg shaped adult incontinence briefs with wide chassis. As another option, it can also be designed to manufacture both incontinence briefs and bed underpads. In response to the most recent market trends, the machine is also available in a special configuration for the manufacturing of “multi-piece” adult incontinence diapers with rectangular front and backside panels made of the same material. The combination of any of the above product structures is also available, upon request.
In the field of lady or light incontinence, Fameccanica introduced FNL P12 L.I. for light incontinence pads, featuring fluff absorbent cores with high SAP content and which are individually wrapped. The FNL P12 L.I. includes electronic repitch technology (a Fameccanica patent) for “elastic foam” application.
Fameccanica has also responded to the need for thinner and thinner diapers, while showcasing maximum fit and comfort. The company offers four different solutions to achieve top results in the creation of thin cores. The first is H-forming, which is the re-engineered forming system with a perfect flow distribution and optimal SAP/fluff mix with ratios of up to 50/50, pad’s integrity and weight control. The H-forming system is the standard forming system for machines up to 600 ppm. Second is the U-forming system, which is capable of producing ultrathin absorbent cores with SAP content higher than 70% and is the standard forming system for the company’s high-speed baby diaper machines. Next is intermittent SAP application, which gives the advantage of targeting the amount of SAP in the middle of the diaper. This works in combination with the Fameccanica Optisap 700 loss-in-weight dosing system. This system allows for an average savings of 2 grams per diaper. Lastly, Fameccanica’s Hexacore, a new fluffless core solution, is suitable for application in baby diapers, heavy and light incontinence as well as for feminine hygiene pads. This Fameccanica patented structure, with expandable cells, enables the superabsorbent material to expand significantly inside the absorbent core. Also, the possibility to use differentiated glue types makes it possible to create preferential directions for expansion across the cells and to manage core integrity levels accordingly.
Fameccanica is also committed to environmental responsibility. The company was granted financial support by Regulation (EC) N° 614/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 May 2007 concerning the Financial Instrument for the Environment (LIFE+). The LIFE+ program is the European Union’s funding instrument for the environment. The general objective of LIFE+ is to contribute to the implementation, updating and development of EU environmental policy and legislation by co-financing pilot or demonstration projects with European added value.
D'Andrea says the first achievement of Fameccanica’s LIFE+ project is the FLS Lamination System for breathable, elastic side panels for baby and adult incontinence diapers, which are now obtained by a means of a glueless lamination, based upon the known solution of ultrasonically bonded transpiring spots (a Fameccanica patent).
In June 2014, the first test stand was installed, and it was dedicated to the LIFE+ project for the second phase of glueless ADL application. It has the capability for the complete ADL processing and its assembly on a diaper’s absorbent core.
Fameccanica has also started the qualification of its glueless application of elastic strands. The objective of this project phase is to make a proven technology capable to fit the real production conditions and requested speed of Fameccanica high performance converters, as well as a comparative test of final samples vs. traditional gluing technology.
www.fameccanica.com
GDM
GDM’s range of products includes baby diapers, training pants and sanitary napkin lines and a full range of incontinence products from light to heavy incontinence. The company’s product portfolio responds to market demands considering not only new product design and features but also its customers’ needs in terms of production requirements. Therefore, GDM re-designed its product portfolio focusing on performance, flexibility and scalability.
GDM’s new performance lines prioritize the overall equipment effectiveness, thus minimizing the unitary product cost. The flexible lines are characterized by a reduced impact of size change activities and by an easy set-up while using different raw materials. The scalability lines are designed for customers interested in evolution capability in terms of production capacity or product development.
The company recently extended its range of products including the new packaging line SB50 to offer customers turnkey solutions with the clear advantage of a single-source supplier. SB50 is capable of stacking and bagging hygiene disposable products up to 50 cycles per minute, featuring a compact and ergonomic design and easy size change. SB50 is now available for baby diaper, training pants, underpad and adult incontinence lines.
Daniele Ponzinibbi, GDM marketing director, says the hygiene disposable machinery market is growing overall. “Hygiene companies are investing in new lines and updating the existing ones with a different mix depending on geographical areas and market segments,” he says.
He adds that the reduction of the overall product costs, the high quality standards, the progressive increase of the production speed and the focus on the overall equipment effectiveness are the key parameters for its customers’ competitiveness. The raw materials industry is constantly introducing new products, he says, offering hygiene producers more possibility to differentiate their disposables products.
“We constantly work to guarantee our customers the opportunity to exploit all the new possibilities by offering a high level of flexibility of the line processes,” says Ponzinibbi. “The products market is rapidly moving towards more sophisticated products where their appearance plays an important role to gain competitive advantage among producers. GDM offers new technological solutions that match the needs of the different markets and lead to optimized production costs.”
In regard to the company’s business model, GDM says it’s focused on customer needs and innovation. “New solutions are constantly developed, providing competitive advantages to our customers,” says Ponzinibbi.
GDM’s new adult lines are progressively having similar configurations to the baby lines, Ponzinibbi explains. He says the difference is in the product dimensions: this means similar features but different processes and solutions. The company is dedicated to improving product features such as wearability, absorbency, comfort and design optimization to reduce costs.
When it comes to being “green,” Ponzinibbi says GDM is committed to monitoring and reducing the environmental impact of its production lines, developing products that require less energy to be produced and optimizing the usage of raw materials. “GDM lines are designed to reduce the energy consumption, increase the efficiency to lower the production waste, optimize the available spaces and bring the noise pollution down,” says Ponzinibbi. The company’s processes are also designed to use the lowest gsm materials available, reduce glue consumption by using ultrasonic or thermo bonding systems and removing trims from discrete applications by utilizing zero waste systems where feasible.
Regarding newer features being offered by its machines, GDM currently proposes the construction of baby diaper product chassis with elasticized materials in order to improve wearability and the manufacturing of thinner absorbent cores both fluff-based and fluffless. GDM also introduced new process solutions for zero waste shaped front and back panels in the adult incontinence lines. Finally, coupling traditional mechanical cam systems with the utilization of linear motion technology, the company managed to design flexible process solutions aiming to zero time size change.
www.gdm-spa.com
HCH
Heng Chang Machinery is a top ranking professional manufacturer of complete production lines for disposable hygiene products that has the biggest scale in China. HCH, located in Anqing, was founded in 1988 and had become a well-known corporation, which has 110,000 square meters of plant area, more than 400 knowledgeable employees and more than 100 machining tools.
During the past several years, in order to improve working efficiency and accuracy, the company purchased numerous control machine centers to replace the traditional processing measures. Now, HCH can make 30 machines per year.
To the domestic producers of disposable hygiene products, HCH has been the first choice for converter and packing machine suppliers, and the company possesses a comparatively bigger market share. HCH’s machines are used by domestic high end users, and are exported to Europe, America, West Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa and more. HCH has been working with many international companies and providing machines to their plants worldwide.
To adapt to the international market, HCH has developed a series of disposable hygiene products automatic converters with high technology to fit market requirements. All of these machines’ technology and safety targets accomplish European standards.
More recently, Heng Chang has rolled out three new machines with independent intellectual property rights: the TNK- 500 T-shape with elastic back ear baby diaper machine and its auxiliary NBZ-50 baby diaper automatic packaging machine, and the WBZ-70 sanitary napkin automatic packaging machine. Last October, the company had another open demonstration show at the Anqing plant for an 800 ppm zero waste elastic ear baby diaper machine and a 1200 ppm sanitary napkin machine with packing equipment. According to the company, the show was successful, and most of its customers recognized their capability through this opportunity and had more confidence that HCH is qualified to supply complete solutions from maker to packing machine with higher speed and efficiency.
www.aqhch.com.cn
Xingshi Professional Equipments
Guangzhou Xingshi Equipments Co., Ltd. was founded in 1999 in China as a professional manufacturer of machinery lines for disposable hygiene products. The company is located in Guangzhou City, the business center of South China. Xingshi can supply converting machines including sanitary napkin machine lines, baby diaper machine lines, baby pants machines, adult diaper machines and panty liner lines, as well as the new stacker with its new auto-packaging machine.
Xingshi manufactured the first Chinese-made full-service sanitary napkin machine and the first full-service baby diaper machine with a stacker in China. Xingshi focuses on the complete solution for clients with the belief that it is not only a supplier but also a true partner to its clients. Services offered by the company include product design, raw material sourcing, fabrication, assembly and debugging, stated machine modification, product upgrade and machine line maintenance. Xingshi listens to the client, finds out the required points and makes them into a reality. Over the years, Xingshi has continued to improve machine stability, reliability and consistency.
Today, Xingshi has more than 300 skilled staff members and more than 100 machining tools. The company has the ability to make 50 machine lines per year. According to the company, maintaining innovation and speeding up development makes Xingshi the best choice for clients using disposable hygiene product machines.
www.xingshi.com.cn
Hangzhou Creator
Hangzhou Creator Machinery Manufacture Co., Ltd. is one of the leaders in hygienic disposable production line technology in China. Today, hygienic disposable products are necessities for household life in China and abroad. Creator’s hygienic disposable production line solutions are the technical core of these products.
Located in Hangzhou, China, Creator was founded in 2001 by a group of professional managers and engineers from the industry. The company uses its enthusiasm and ambitions to create its own high quality baby diaper, adult diaper and sanitary napkin machinery, which represents the modern level of Chinese machinery and which are provided to China and the international market with current international standards.
The company is under the belief that “everything can be created.” Up to now, Creator has obtained 75 intellectual properties, including 41 patents for invention, 33 patents for utility models and one patent for design. This is why the company is named Creator. Since the beginning, Creator has achieved a good reputation in China and abroad by providing top rank equipment and satisfied service to its customers. The company has also formed profound teamwork with Italian and Korean engineers in the industry. According to Creator, these establish its unique competition force in China and abroad.
Creator is proud to say that it has sold more than 80 production lines in more than 20 countries including Italy, Russia, Belarus, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Columbia and Venezuela, among others.
www.createmachine.com.cn
Fujian Peixin
Peixin International Group is one of the top professional manufacturers in China for baby diaper machines, lady napkin machines, adult diaper machines and various paper converting machines. With 29 years experience in this market, Peixin enjoys a reputation for good quality and perfect after-sales service for all customers from more than 80 countries in the world.
Peixin is located in Shuangyang Overseas Chinese Economic-Develop Zone, Luojiang District, Quanzhou, Fujian, China and occupies a total area of 60,000 square meters with the fixed assets of almost $200 million. Peixin has more than 250 employees including 50 technician staff guaranteeing accurate production and offering strong production capacity.
Peixin has won many honors, such as “China Product Exemption for Quality Surveillance Inspection,” “Fujian Province Famous Brand,” “Contract and Credit Fiduciary Company,” “Technology Innovative Enterprise,” “Important Enterprise for Taxpaying,” and more. Peixin also has earned ISO 9001:2000 Quality Certification System and the European CE certificate.
Recently, Peixin exported a full-service control underpad and pet mattress production line in the U.S. Its running speed is 200-220 meters per minute and the ultra-thin pet mattresses made on the machine can be only 20gsm.
www.peixin.com
Zuiko
Japanese hygiene producer Zuiko designs and manufactures its machines based on its customers’ specific parameters, therefore the company creates a wide range of disposable hygiene converting machinery; from very basic baby tape diapers to niche adult incontinence products. The company says it has the experience and technical capability to respond to a variety of market demands.
Curtis Woo, sales and marketing executive, says the Asian market is growing and hygiene product manufacturers need to invest in quality machinery to satisfy the growing demand. “Companies have asked us to help them with their business expansion, and in most cases, we are fortunate to oblige. It is our intention to do all we can and contribute to their success,” he says.
Zuiko has been designing and manufacturing machines for adult incontinence and baby diapers for decades. “With an aging population and product value focused consumers, adult incontinence products for the Japanese market is arguably the most diverse and advanced in the world,” Woo explains. “From daytime light incontinence pads to superabsorbent overnight diapers, one only needs to visit a drug store to quickly understand the product variety. Existence in such a market keeps Zuiko flexible and innovative.”
The company emphasizes its “green” efforts by focusing on how efficiently customers are making their products. For example, Zuiko offers several maintenance services programs to help customers limit production waste and improve production runs to sustain high levels of efficiency over the long term.
In the overall market, Woo says “machine processes must evolve to handle the innovative developments in the material side of the industry. At the same time machines must improve production speed, efficiency and stability.” He adds that the company constantly works on machines designed to meet ever-evolving market needs.
www.zuiko.co.jp/english
Jinjiang Haina Machinery
Jinjiang Haina Machinery Co., Ltd. is a manufacturer of household paper machinery including equipment for baby diaper, baby diaper pad, adult diaper, adult diaper pad, sanitary pad, panty liners, wet wipes, pull-ups and household paper packaging production.
The company—through its sophisticated employees and technology—touts dominance in its research of electrical technology, manufacture, assembly, testing and technical service of machines. According to Jinjiang Haina, its professional technology and perfect after-sales service has won the company a good reputation within the household paper machine industry in China, and it has achieved high praise by professional insiders.
Jinjiang Haina is following the tenet of lead-edge technologies, reliable quality, good reputation and first and foremost service. In the company’s corporate culture, they focus on personality, morality and life.
Haina Machinery continues to make progress and create effectiveness for its customers at home and abroad.
www.fjhaina.com
Three Wood Machinery
Three Wood Machinery Industry Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nanjing Three Wood Group, a leading high tech enterprise in the domestic industry, reaching international advanced levels of professional design, research and development, manufacturing and sales of disposable hygiene products production lines.
Three Wood was founded in August 2007 and has more than 18,000 square meters of manufacturing area and 7000 square meters of office area, with more than 50 sets of advanced processing equipment and several outsourcing manufacturers with long term cooperation. The company has gathered a group of professional Chinese and foreign experts in research and development, design, automation, manufacturing, testing and commissioning.
The company’s main products include production lines for pull-up baby diapers, pull-up adult diapers, baby diapers, adult diapers, sanitary napkins, under pads and food pads as well as stacking and packaging equipment.
Machine design and manufacturing can be customized according to a customer’s requirements. Three Wood has the right to import and export directly, and many kinds of completely set machines have been exported to Europe, Southeast Asia, South Korea, India, and South America, among others.
www.threewoodmachine.com
M.D. Viola
Italian company M.D. Viola makes hygiene machinery for baby and adult products. To help customers decrease the cost of production, while also increasing product quality, the company has developed its latest machinery for baby and adult products that provide faster production speed with less maintenance and less energy needed.
“Thanks to good product quality research and a well-developed business plan, the market for M.D. Viola Macchine machines is increasing,” says Davide Viola. “Hygiene companies are still interested in improving and investing in new technology. We design products to meet our customers’ needs and to achieve positive results and market acceptance.”
With the adult incontinence market quickly gaining traction, M.D. Viola was always a step ahead when it came to the adult market. “We were engaged on adult machine construction from the very beginning,” adds Viola. “The market for adult incontinence is in constantly increasing, and we have created more than 50 adult product lines over the past years.”
He says the company is deeply focused on the adult market segment and are always attempting to follow market trends. M.D. Viola’s most recent line development is dedicated to producing a pull-on product for adults and machinery for the light incontinence segment.
Viola says there’s a distinct difference between baby and adult diaper machines. “Machines today have very specialized functions,” he says. “In order to make good, reliable products and reduce the basic cost of production, it is not possible to compromise different products on the same machine concept. Engineering every product has to have the proper dedicated line.”
The company is also committed to the environment, and has substantially decreased the amount of energy used for diaper fabrication. Their machines now use 30% less energy, which achieves two goals: productions costs are reduced and their more eco-friendly machinery uses fewer resources.
Currently, M.D. Viola is engaged in several new projects with its customers to create dedicated machines with improved product quality and reliability. These are machines that improve quality on diaper absorbency with better SAP-fluff distribution and increasing the quality feeling from customer to the final diaper.
www.mdviola.com
Hanwei Manufacturing
Hanwei Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd. offers 120 sets of various advanced tooling machines and testing units, self-supplying 90% of mechanical parts to meet 80 sets of machines annually. The company’s aggressive team of employees, at home and abroad, own nearly 100 patents and innovations to ensure machines are of top quality and reliable, and offer considerable profit achievement and advancement.
All of Hanwei’s machines feature high speed modular frame designs for future developing and upgrading; full-service control systems featuring high speed, high efficiency, visualization and intelligent control; centralization and modularization for the power source and command center; inline vision quality systems that auto check spliced materials, broken materials, dirty spots, metal, shapes and phasers to auto check and reject defects; auto phaser checking and adjusting at machines’ start-up; multi-sizes on one machine and one touch for size changing; and perfect statistical analyzing and recording for all producing and managing dates. Machines also include industry interface operations and graphic manipulation for real-time monitoring and alarming at producing; air shafts, auto center unwinding with dancing tension by service controlling and auto splicing at zero speed; auto web guiders for raw materials and dual sensors checking for key parts; and main mechanical parts are processed by highly advanced CNC tooling machines to keep precision and quality.
New machines from Hanwei include the HW-NK-800 inline laminating waistband baby diaper machine, which features a design speed of 1000 ppm and a reliable speed of 700-800 ppm. Product structures include inline laminating waistband, dual 3D embossing topsheet, rear cuff, ADL, curve core with various density zones, compatible of ultrathin core, stand cuff, leg elastic, S-zero cut Velcro inline laminating side tape, inline laminating discreet backsheet and discreet frontal tape. Other new machines are the new HW-NK-500XLH baby training pant machine and the HW-NK-1200 Zero trim sanitary napkin machine.
www.hanwei.com.cn
Jinjiang Shunchang Machinery
Shunchang Machinery offers an array of research, design, manufacturing, sales and service capabilities. The company is a specialty machine manufacturer for sanitary disposable products and also offers an auto stacker.
Shunchang manufactures sanitary disposable products machinery and auto stackers for training pants, adult diapers and pads, baby diapers and pads, sanitary napkins, panty liners and under pads.
Shunchang’s team includes a sophisticated group of engineers with knowledge gained from years of working experience. The company is focused on meeting its clients’ requirements. In a one-on-one relationship, they tailor research, design and manufacturing methods to meet its clients’ needs. Currently, they have machines operating in several countries and areas including North America, the Middle East, North and South Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.
Shunchang operates with the spirit of its motto in mind: “Quality is started and achieved with each screw.” At the same time, the company pursues the business philosophy of: “Keep Moving, Keep Innovating, Keep Serving.”
“Whatever the size of our clients’ company and whether or not a client has previously purchased Shunchang’s machines, whenever a client has any questions that needs to be answered, or any problems that need to be resolved, we always offer our help along the way to promoting a mutually beneficial relationship,” the company says.
www.jjsc.com/en
Bicma
German company Bicma offers a variety of machines and conversion kits to produce high quality baby or adult diapers, light incontinence and feminine care products, underpads, nursing pads, meat pads, puppy pads, and customized special products such as Peepoo disposable toilets. The latest machines produce at speeds of 500 meters per minute and come with up-to-date features such as inline printing, fluffless cores, elastic side panels and more.
This year, Bicma will be celebrating 20 years in business, as owners Lothar Geiger and Thomas Spurzem founded the company in 1995. With this milestone, the company says it’s eager to rise to new challenges and further expansion in the future.
In the adult incontinence segment, Bicma offers a full range of machinery for light incontinence products, adult shaped briefs, adult diapers and underpads. “The adult diapers may either follow the traditional anatomical design, or have side panels such as rectangular ears, shaped ears, or long belts,” says Andrea Allar, sales manager. “Bicma’s special ultrathin high-absorbency core provides excellent product performance paired with discrete, comfortable and slim product design.”
While some customers may need fluctuating volumes of more than one type of product, the total demand does not justify investing in more than one machine, Allar adds. To accommodate this request, Bicma developed hybrid machines that allow customers to manufacture various products on one machine, including adult diapers, adult shaped pads and/or underpads.
When it comes to baby diaper machines, Allar explains that they usually include many more features than adult diaper machines. “Most customers follow existing product designs and just decide to order certain standard features directly at the beginning, or later as an upgrade. This makes it possible for the machine builder to build and ship more baby diaper machines per year, than machines for adult incontinence products.” For adult diapers, he says, a higher degree of product diversity and ongoing product developments require a selection of various technical solutions and machine concepts.
For its role in environmental sustainability, Bicma considers not just daily production, buta a number of qualities for the environmental footprint of a machine during its lifetime. Emissions such as noise, dust and heat are kept on the lowest possible level, even with machine capacity permanently increasing . The company says it is constantly reducing the consumption of space, power, water and air by using high-efficiently drives and a smart process design. Also, because of a compact and intelligent machine layout, the use of factory space is minimized.
Allar adds, “The consumption of natural resources for the products is reduced by high-tech machines able to handle thinner materials, and by use of ultrasonic to replace glue.”
On high-speed machines, he says the process is automatically controlled by vision systems to detect potential faults immediately before they can lead to damage in the machine, which helps to prevent downtimes and spare parts consumption caused by process faults.
“Long living, high-quality branded components reduce the need for spare parts,” Allar says.
He adds, “The modular and flexible concept of Bicma’s machines allows [users] to upgrade them many times during their lifetime, to keep pace with future consumer product innovations.”
When describing the current state of the hygiene machinery business, Allar says upgrades of existing machines continue to have a substantial stake in the business, even while new production lines remain on a high level. Also, while the light incontinence segment has seemed to slow down because of a surge of additional capacity recently, there are significant investments in the heavy incontinence and baby diaper segments. Finally, Allar adds, “It is remarkable that also the feminine care sector, which for some years had been somewhat asleep, seems to be coming back to life with new ideas and new investments.”
www.bicma.com
The following is a review of the latest machinery and services offered from the nonwovens industry’s leading hygiene machinery manufacturers.
Fameccanica
Established in 1975, Fameccanica is worldwide leader in the design and construction of machinery for the manufacturing of baby and adult incontinence diapers and sanitary napkins.
With the continuing growth of the adult incontinence segment, Fameccanica is focused on creating pioneering new products. Alessandro D'Andrea, marketing manager at Fameccanica, says the most recent market trends respond to a need “for innovation in the adult incontinence segment, mostly for new products with better fit and comfort, while keeping acceptable production costs by introducing solutions for cost saving—e.g. zero trim, in-line processes, etc.”
Even with adult incontinence being the hot topic in the industry, D'Andrea adds that Fameccanica didn’t have to adapt to this trend as offering a wide range of machinery types and innovation has always been customary for the company, in the constant effort to anticipate market demands.
With an eye on adult incontinence, Fameccanica developed adult pant diaper model FIX P5X, a high-speed machine for pull-on protective underwear. This machine uses a unique technology for in-line processing of breathable, elastic laminated waistbands with ultrasonically bonded transpiring spots (a Fameccanica patent) to create a discrete and soft feeling product with maximum fit and comfort. The machine is also available in a version able to handle the traditional threads waist elasticization, as well as in a flexible version to produce both product types.
Another key innovation from Fameccanica is the new FIX B2X, a medium capacity machine for adult incontinence pant diapers, available for both the ultrasonically bonded film laminate waistband version and the traditional threads waist elasticization machine.
Adding to Fameccanica’s innovations in adult inco is the “Best” Zero Trim Ear Technology. “Best” is a Fameccanica patent solution for asymmetrical back ears sans trim that can allow “€-7-digit” savings per year. It is now available both on the high capacity machine model FIX P5, and on the entry-level machine model FIX B2—another recent addition to the Fameccanica machinery portfolio.
The FIX B2 is available as standard, in the configuration for the manufacturing of leg shaped adult incontinence briefs with wide chassis. As another option, it can also be designed to manufacture both incontinence briefs and bed underpads. In response to the most recent market trends, the machine is also available in a special configuration for the manufacturing of “multi-piece” adult incontinence diapers with rectangular front and backside panels made of the same material. The combination of any of the above product structures is also available, upon request.
In the field of lady or light incontinence, Fameccanica introduced FNL P12 L.I. for light incontinence pads, featuring fluff absorbent cores with high SAP content and which are individually wrapped. The FNL P12 L.I. includes electronic repitch technology (a Fameccanica patent) for “elastic foam” application.
Fameccanica has also responded to the need for thinner and thinner diapers, while showcasing maximum fit and comfort. The company offers four different solutions to achieve top results in the creation of thin cores. The first is H-forming, which is the re-engineered forming system with a perfect flow distribution and optimal SAP/fluff mix with ratios of up to 50/50, pad’s integrity and weight control. The H-forming system is the standard forming system for machines up to 600 ppm. Second is the U-forming system, which is capable of producing ultrathin absorbent cores with SAP content higher than 70% and is the standard forming system for the company’s high-speed baby diaper machines. Next is intermittent SAP application, which gives the advantage of targeting the amount of SAP in the middle of the diaper. This works in combination with the Fameccanica Optisap 700 loss-in-weight dosing system. This system allows for an average savings of 2 grams per diaper. Lastly, Fameccanica’s Hexacore, a new fluffless core solution, is suitable for application in baby diapers, heavy and light incontinence as well as for feminine hygiene pads. This Fameccanica patented structure, with expandable cells, enables the superabsorbent material to expand significantly inside the absorbent core. Also, the possibility to use differentiated glue types makes it possible to create preferential directions for expansion across the cells and to manage core integrity levels accordingly.
Fameccanica is also committed to environmental responsibility. The company was granted financial support by Regulation (EC) N° 614/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 May 2007 concerning the Financial Instrument for the Environment (LIFE+). The LIFE+ program is the European Union’s funding instrument for the environment. The general objective of LIFE+ is to contribute to the implementation, updating and development of EU environmental policy and legislation by co-financing pilot or demonstration projects with European added value.
D'Andrea says the first achievement of Fameccanica’s LIFE+ project is the FLS Lamination System for breathable, elastic side panels for baby and adult incontinence diapers, which are now obtained by a means of a glueless lamination, based upon the known solution of ultrasonically bonded transpiring spots (a Fameccanica patent).
In June 2014, the first test stand was installed, and it was dedicated to the LIFE+ project for the second phase of glueless ADL application. It has the capability for the complete ADL processing and its assembly on a diaper’s absorbent core.
Fameccanica has also started the qualification of its glueless application of elastic strands. The objective of this project phase is to make a proven technology capable to fit the real production conditions and requested speed of Fameccanica high performance converters, as well as a comparative test of final samples vs. traditional gluing technology.
www.fameccanica.com
GDM
GDM’s range of products includes baby diapers, training pants and sanitary napkin lines and a full range of incontinence products from light to heavy incontinence. The company’s product portfolio responds to market demands considering not only new product design and features but also its customers’ needs in terms of production requirements. Therefore, GDM re-designed its product portfolio focusing on performance, flexibility and scalability.
GDM’s new performance lines prioritize the overall equipment effectiveness, thus minimizing the unitary product cost. The flexible lines are characterized by a reduced impact of size change activities and by an easy set-up while using different raw materials. The scalability lines are designed for customers interested in evolution capability in terms of production capacity or product development.
The company recently extended its range of products including the new packaging line SB50 to offer customers turnkey solutions with the clear advantage of a single-source supplier. SB50 is capable of stacking and bagging hygiene disposable products up to 50 cycles per minute, featuring a compact and ergonomic design and easy size change. SB50 is now available for baby diaper, training pants, underpad and adult incontinence lines.
Daniele Ponzinibbi, GDM marketing director, says the hygiene disposable machinery market is growing overall. “Hygiene companies are investing in new lines and updating the existing ones with a different mix depending on geographical areas and market segments,” he says.
He adds that the reduction of the overall product costs, the high quality standards, the progressive increase of the production speed and the focus on the overall equipment effectiveness are the key parameters for its customers’ competitiveness. The raw materials industry is constantly introducing new products, he says, offering hygiene producers more possibility to differentiate their disposables products.
“We constantly work to guarantee our customers the opportunity to exploit all the new possibilities by offering a high level of flexibility of the line processes,” says Ponzinibbi. “The products market is rapidly moving towards more sophisticated products where their appearance plays an important role to gain competitive advantage among producers. GDM offers new technological solutions that match the needs of the different markets and lead to optimized production costs.”
In regard to the company’s business model, GDM says it’s focused on customer needs and innovation. “New solutions are constantly developed, providing competitive advantages to our customers,” says Ponzinibbi.
GDM’s new adult lines are progressively having similar configurations to the baby lines, Ponzinibbi explains. He says the difference is in the product dimensions: this means similar features but different processes and solutions. The company is dedicated to improving product features such as wearability, absorbency, comfort and design optimization to reduce costs.
When it comes to being “green,” Ponzinibbi says GDM is committed to monitoring and reducing the environmental impact of its production lines, developing products that require less energy to be produced and optimizing the usage of raw materials. “GDM lines are designed to reduce the energy consumption, increase the efficiency to lower the production waste, optimize the available spaces and bring the noise pollution down,” says Ponzinibbi. The company’s processes are also designed to use the lowest gsm materials available, reduce glue consumption by using ultrasonic or thermo bonding systems and removing trims from discrete applications by utilizing zero waste systems where feasible.
Regarding newer features being offered by its machines, GDM currently proposes the construction of baby diaper product chassis with elasticized materials in order to improve wearability and the manufacturing of thinner absorbent cores both fluff-based and fluffless. GDM also introduced new process solutions for zero waste shaped front and back panels in the adult incontinence lines. Finally, coupling traditional mechanical cam systems with the utilization of linear motion technology, the company managed to design flexible process solutions aiming to zero time size change.
www.gdm-spa.com
HCH
Heng Chang Machinery is a top ranking professional manufacturer of complete production lines for disposable hygiene products that has the biggest scale in China. HCH, located in Anqing, was founded in 1988 and had become a well-known corporation, which has 110,000 square meters of plant area, more than 400 knowledgeable employees and more than 100 machining tools.
During the past several years, in order to improve working efficiency and accuracy, the company purchased numerous control machine centers to replace the traditional processing measures. Now, HCH can make 30 machines per year.
To the domestic producers of disposable hygiene products, HCH has been the first choice for converter and packing machine suppliers, and the company possesses a comparatively bigger market share. HCH’s machines are used by domestic high end users, and are exported to Europe, America, West Asia, Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa and more. HCH has been working with many international companies and providing machines to their plants worldwide.
To adapt to the international market, HCH has developed a series of disposable hygiene products automatic converters with high technology to fit market requirements. All of these machines’ technology and safety targets accomplish European standards.
More recently, Heng Chang has rolled out three new machines with independent intellectual property rights: the TNK- 500 T-shape with elastic back ear baby diaper machine and its auxiliary NBZ-50 baby diaper automatic packaging machine, and the WBZ-70 sanitary napkin automatic packaging machine. Last October, the company had another open demonstration show at the Anqing plant for an 800 ppm zero waste elastic ear baby diaper machine and a 1200 ppm sanitary napkin machine with packing equipment. According to the company, the show was successful, and most of its customers recognized their capability through this opportunity and had more confidence that HCH is qualified to supply complete solutions from maker to packing machine with higher speed and efficiency.
www.aqhch.com.cn
Xingshi Professional Equipments
Guangzhou Xingshi Equipments Co., Ltd. was founded in 1999 in China as a professional manufacturer of machinery lines for disposable hygiene products. The company is located in Guangzhou City, the business center of South China. Xingshi can supply converting machines including sanitary napkin machine lines, baby diaper machine lines, baby pants machines, adult diaper machines and panty liner lines, as well as the new stacker with its new auto-packaging machine.
Xingshi manufactured the first Chinese-made full-service sanitary napkin machine and the first full-service baby diaper machine with a stacker in China. Xingshi focuses on the complete solution for clients with the belief that it is not only a supplier but also a true partner to its clients. Services offered by the company include product design, raw material sourcing, fabrication, assembly and debugging, stated machine modification, product upgrade and machine line maintenance. Xingshi listens to the client, finds out the required points and makes them into a reality. Over the years, Xingshi has continued to improve machine stability, reliability and consistency.
Today, Xingshi has more than 300 skilled staff members and more than 100 machining tools. The company has the ability to make 50 machine lines per year. According to the company, maintaining innovation and speeding up development makes Xingshi the best choice for clients using disposable hygiene product machines.
www.xingshi.com.cn
Hangzhou Creator
Hangzhou Creator Machinery Manufacture Co., Ltd. is one of the leaders in hygienic disposable production line technology in China. Today, hygienic disposable products are necessities for household life in China and abroad. Creator’s hygienic disposable production line solutions are the technical core of these products.
Located in Hangzhou, China, Creator was founded in 2001 by a group of professional managers and engineers from the industry. The company uses its enthusiasm and ambitions to create its own high quality baby diaper, adult diaper and sanitary napkin machinery, which represents the modern level of Chinese machinery and which are provided to China and the international market with current international standards.
The company is under the belief that “everything can be created.” Up to now, Creator has obtained 75 intellectual properties, including 41 patents for invention, 33 patents for utility models and one patent for design. This is why the company is named Creator. Since the beginning, Creator has achieved a good reputation in China and abroad by providing top rank equipment and satisfied service to its customers. The company has also formed profound teamwork with Italian and Korean engineers in the industry. According to Creator, these establish its unique competition force in China and abroad.
Creator is proud to say that it has sold more than 80 production lines in more than 20 countries including Italy, Russia, Belarus, Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Columbia and Venezuela, among others.
www.createmachine.com.cn
Fujian Peixin
Peixin International Group is one of the top professional manufacturers in China for baby diaper machines, lady napkin machines, adult diaper machines and various paper converting machines. With 29 years experience in this market, Peixin enjoys a reputation for good quality and perfect after-sales service for all customers from more than 80 countries in the world.
Peixin is located in Shuangyang Overseas Chinese Economic-Develop Zone, Luojiang District, Quanzhou, Fujian, China and occupies a total area of 60,000 square meters with the fixed assets of almost $200 million. Peixin has more than 250 employees including 50 technician staff guaranteeing accurate production and offering strong production capacity.
Peixin has won many honors, such as “China Product Exemption for Quality Surveillance Inspection,” “Fujian Province Famous Brand,” “Contract and Credit Fiduciary Company,” “Technology Innovative Enterprise,” “Important Enterprise for Taxpaying,” and more. Peixin also has earned ISO 9001:2000 Quality Certification System and the European CE certificate.
Recently, Peixin exported a full-service control underpad and pet mattress production line in the U.S. Its running speed is 200-220 meters per minute and the ultra-thin pet mattresses made on the machine can be only 20gsm.
www.peixin.com
Zuiko
Japanese hygiene producer Zuiko designs and manufactures its machines based on its customers’ specific parameters, therefore the company creates a wide range of disposable hygiene converting machinery; from very basic baby tape diapers to niche adult incontinence products. The company says it has the experience and technical capability to respond to a variety of market demands.
Curtis Woo, sales and marketing executive, says the Asian market is growing and hygiene product manufacturers need to invest in quality machinery to satisfy the growing demand. “Companies have asked us to help them with their business expansion, and in most cases, we are fortunate to oblige. It is our intention to do all we can and contribute to their success,” he says.
Zuiko has been designing and manufacturing machines for adult incontinence and baby diapers for decades. “With an aging population and product value focused consumers, adult incontinence products for the Japanese market is arguably the most diverse and advanced in the world,” Woo explains. “From daytime light incontinence pads to superabsorbent overnight diapers, one only needs to visit a drug store to quickly understand the product variety. Existence in such a market keeps Zuiko flexible and innovative.”
The company emphasizes its “green” efforts by focusing on how efficiently customers are making their products. For example, Zuiko offers several maintenance services programs to help customers limit production waste and improve production runs to sustain high levels of efficiency over the long term.
In the overall market, Woo says “machine processes must evolve to handle the innovative developments in the material side of the industry. At the same time machines must improve production speed, efficiency and stability.” He adds that the company constantly works on machines designed to meet ever-evolving market needs.
www.zuiko.co.jp/english
Jinjiang Haina Machinery
Jinjiang Haina Machinery Co., Ltd. is a manufacturer of household paper machinery including equipment for baby diaper, baby diaper pad, adult diaper, adult diaper pad, sanitary pad, panty liners, wet wipes, pull-ups and household paper packaging production.
The company—through its sophisticated employees and technology—touts dominance in its research of electrical technology, manufacture, assembly, testing and technical service of machines. According to Jinjiang Haina, its professional technology and perfect after-sales service has won the company a good reputation within the household paper machine industry in China, and it has achieved high praise by professional insiders.
Jinjiang Haina is following the tenet of lead-edge technologies, reliable quality, good reputation and first and foremost service. In the company’s corporate culture, they focus on personality, morality and life.
Haina Machinery continues to make progress and create effectiveness for its customers at home and abroad.
www.fjhaina.com
Three Wood Machinery
Three Wood Machinery Industry Co., Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Nanjing Three Wood Group, a leading high tech enterprise in the domestic industry, reaching international advanced levels of professional design, research and development, manufacturing and sales of disposable hygiene products production lines.
Three Wood was founded in August 2007 and has more than 18,000 square meters of manufacturing area and 7000 square meters of office area, with more than 50 sets of advanced processing equipment and several outsourcing manufacturers with long term cooperation. The company has gathered a group of professional Chinese and foreign experts in research and development, design, automation, manufacturing, testing and commissioning.
The company’s main products include production lines for pull-up baby diapers, pull-up adult diapers, baby diapers, adult diapers, sanitary napkins, under pads and food pads as well as stacking and packaging equipment.
Machine design and manufacturing can be customized according to a customer’s requirements. Three Wood has the right to import and export directly, and many kinds of completely set machines have been exported to Europe, Southeast Asia, South Korea, India, and South America, among others.
www.threewoodmachine.com
M.D. Viola
Italian company M.D. Viola makes hygiene machinery for baby and adult products. To help customers decrease the cost of production, while also increasing product quality, the company has developed its latest machinery for baby and adult products that provide faster production speed with less maintenance and less energy needed.
“Thanks to good product quality research and a well-developed business plan, the market for M.D. Viola Macchine machines is increasing,” says Davide Viola. “Hygiene companies are still interested in improving and investing in new technology. We design products to meet our customers’ needs and to achieve positive results and market acceptance.”
With the adult incontinence market quickly gaining traction, M.D. Viola was always a step ahead when it came to the adult market. “We were engaged on adult machine construction from the very beginning,” adds Viola. “The market for adult incontinence is in constantly increasing, and we have created more than 50 adult product lines over the past years.”
He says the company is deeply focused on the adult market segment and are always attempting to follow market trends. M.D. Viola’s most recent line development is dedicated to producing a pull-on product for adults and machinery for the light incontinence segment.
Viola says there’s a distinct difference between baby and adult diaper machines. “Machines today have very specialized functions,” he says. “In order to make good, reliable products and reduce the basic cost of production, it is not possible to compromise different products on the same machine concept. Engineering every product has to have the proper dedicated line.”
The company is also committed to the environment, and has substantially decreased the amount of energy used for diaper fabrication. Their machines now use 30% less energy, which achieves two goals: productions costs are reduced and their more eco-friendly machinery uses fewer resources.
Currently, M.D. Viola is engaged in several new projects with its customers to create dedicated machines with improved product quality and reliability. These are machines that improve quality on diaper absorbency with better SAP-fluff distribution and increasing the quality feeling from customer to the final diaper.
www.mdviola.com
Hanwei Manufacturing
Hanwei Machinery Manufacturing Co., Ltd. offers 120 sets of various advanced tooling machines and testing units, self-supplying 90% of mechanical parts to meet 80 sets of machines annually. The company’s aggressive team of employees, at home and abroad, own nearly 100 patents and innovations to ensure machines are of top quality and reliable, and offer considerable profit achievement and advancement.
All of Hanwei’s machines feature high speed modular frame designs for future developing and upgrading; full-service control systems featuring high speed, high efficiency, visualization and intelligent control; centralization and modularization for the power source and command center; inline vision quality systems that auto check spliced materials, broken materials, dirty spots, metal, shapes and phasers to auto check and reject defects; auto phaser checking and adjusting at machines’ start-up; multi-sizes on one machine and one touch for size changing; and perfect statistical analyzing and recording for all producing and managing dates. Machines also include industry interface operations and graphic manipulation for real-time monitoring and alarming at producing; air shafts, auto center unwinding with dancing tension by service controlling and auto splicing at zero speed; auto web guiders for raw materials and dual sensors checking for key parts; and main mechanical parts are processed by highly advanced CNC tooling machines to keep precision and quality.
New machines from Hanwei include the HW-NK-800 inline laminating waistband baby diaper machine, which features a design speed of 1000 ppm and a reliable speed of 700-800 ppm. Product structures include inline laminating waistband, dual 3D embossing topsheet, rear cuff, ADL, curve core with various density zones, compatible of ultrathin core, stand cuff, leg elastic, S-zero cut Velcro inline laminating side tape, inline laminating discreet backsheet and discreet frontal tape. Other new machines are the new HW-NK-500XLH baby training pant machine and the HW-NK-1200 Zero trim sanitary napkin machine.
www.hanwei.com.cn
Jinjiang Shunchang Machinery
Shunchang Machinery offers an array of research, design, manufacturing, sales and service capabilities. The company is a specialty machine manufacturer for sanitary disposable products and also offers an auto stacker.
Shunchang manufactures sanitary disposable products machinery and auto stackers for training pants, adult diapers and pads, baby diapers and pads, sanitary napkins, panty liners and under pads.
Shunchang’s team includes a sophisticated group of engineers with knowledge gained from years of working experience. The company is focused on meeting its clients’ requirements. In a one-on-one relationship, they tailor research, design and manufacturing methods to meet its clients’ needs. Currently, they have machines operating in several countries and areas including North America, the Middle East, North and South Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe.
Shunchang operates with the spirit of its motto in mind: “Quality is started and achieved with each screw.” At the same time, the company pursues the business philosophy of: “Keep Moving, Keep Innovating, Keep Serving.”
“Whatever the size of our clients’ company and whether or not a client has previously purchased Shunchang’s machines, whenever a client has any questions that needs to be answered, or any problems that need to be resolved, we always offer our help along the way to promoting a mutually beneficial relationship,” the company says.
www.jjsc.com/en
Bicma
German company Bicma offers a variety of machines and conversion kits to produce high quality baby or adult diapers, light incontinence and feminine care products, underpads, nursing pads, meat pads, puppy pads, and customized special products such as Peepoo disposable toilets. The latest machines produce at speeds of 500 meters per minute and come with up-to-date features such as inline printing, fluffless cores, elastic side panels and more.
This year, Bicma will be celebrating 20 years in business, as owners Lothar Geiger and Thomas Spurzem founded the company in 1995. With this milestone, the company says it’s eager to rise to new challenges and further expansion in the future.
In the adult incontinence segment, Bicma offers a full range of machinery for light incontinence products, adult shaped briefs, adult diapers and underpads. “The adult diapers may either follow the traditional anatomical design, or have side panels such as rectangular ears, shaped ears, or long belts,” says Andrea Allar, sales manager. “Bicma’s special ultrathin high-absorbency core provides excellent product performance paired with discrete, comfortable and slim product design.”
While some customers may need fluctuating volumes of more than one type of product, the total demand does not justify investing in more than one machine, Allar adds. To accommodate this request, Bicma developed hybrid machines that allow customers to manufacture various products on one machine, including adult diapers, adult shaped pads and/or underpads.
When it comes to baby diaper machines, Allar explains that they usually include many more features than adult diaper machines. “Most customers follow existing product designs and just decide to order certain standard features directly at the beginning, or later as an upgrade. This makes it possible for the machine builder to build and ship more baby diaper machines per year, than machines for adult incontinence products.” For adult diapers, he says, a higher degree of product diversity and ongoing product developments require a selection of various technical solutions and machine concepts.
For its role in environmental sustainability, Bicma considers not just daily production, buta a number of qualities for the environmental footprint of a machine during its lifetime. Emissions such as noise, dust and heat are kept on the lowest possible level, even with machine capacity permanently increasing . The company says it is constantly reducing the consumption of space, power, water and air by using high-efficiently drives and a smart process design. Also, because of a compact and intelligent machine layout, the use of factory space is minimized.
Allar adds, “The consumption of natural resources for the products is reduced by high-tech machines able to handle thinner materials, and by use of ultrasonic to replace glue.”
On high-speed machines, he says the process is automatically controlled by vision systems to detect potential faults immediately before they can lead to damage in the machine, which helps to prevent downtimes and spare parts consumption caused by process faults.
“Long living, high-quality branded components reduce the need for spare parts,” Allar says.
He adds, “The modular and flexible concept of Bicma’s machines allows [users] to upgrade them many times during their lifetime, to keep pace with future consumer product innovations.”
When describing the current state of the hygiene machinery business, Allar says upgrades of existing machines continue to have a substantial stake in the business, even while new production lines remain on a high level. Also, while the light incontinence segment has seemed to slow down because of a surge of additional capacity recently, there are significant investments in the heavy incontinence and baby diaper segments. Finally, Allar adds, “It is remarkable that also the feminine care sector, which for some years had been somewhat asleep, seems to be coming back to life with new ideas and new investments.”
www.bicma.com