#Nonwovens / Technical Textiles

2021-12-16

Suominen part of Future of Nonwovens –project in Finland

The Future of Nonwovens (FoN) project supports the ExpandFibre mission by helping the Finnish nonwoven and textile industry become a forerunner in the field of innovative sustainable nonwovens. A center of excellence has been established within the project to enhance collaboration between partners within the nonwovens value chain.

Suominen’s target is to increase sales of sustainable products by 50 % by 2025, compared to the base year 2019, and to launch at least ten sustainable products per year. Suominen has two strong capabilities that, together with the advanced production technologies, support the innovations needed to reach the target. Suomeinen says the compnay is pioneer in sustainable nonwovens and its R&D team has excellent knowledge in sustainable fibers. In addition, Suominen has adopted ways of working that enable and encourage innovation; the New Fiber Center approach is one example of this. Suominen’s current sustainable product portfolio consists of products made of renewable, recycled, and/or plastic-free raw materials as well as compostable and dispersible nonwovens.

Replacing synthetic textile fibres in nonwovens with biobased materials

The FoN project joins the ExpandFibre mission by utilising a variety of nonwoven production methods, especially airlaid, and new raw materials to expand the property space of sustainable bioproducts in order to replace less sustainable materials in the future. The ExpandFibre ecosystem will offer joint channels to disseminate and share results and outcomes of the FoN project.

“The project brings together unique expertise, which creates new business opportunities, jobs and wellbeing in Finland. The FoN project will develop bio-based and biodegradable nonwoven materials from softwood pulp and new cellulose-based textile fibers that can also be made from used T-shirts and jeans. In addition, we study the use of bio-based chemicals as binders and low-energy air-laying technology in the production of nonwovens,” says the FoN project manager Taina Kamppuri, Senior scientist, VTT.

The Future of Nonwovens project envisions that by 2030, over fifty percent of synthetic textile fibres in nonwovens are replaced with sustainable bio-based, biodegradable and recycled materials in Europe and in the USA. Therefore, FoN aims to transform the raw material base, exploring airlaying, a water-scarce nonwovens manufacturing method, as the production technology. Specifically, FoN aims to gather understanding on the property-space of airlaid webs compared to wet-laid, foam-formed and carded nonwoven webs for sustainable nonwovens. It also gives the opportunity to push Suominen’s innovations even further with cooperation between important partners of the value chain.

Unique collaboration between partners in nonwovens value chain

The consortium working towards this goal is a unique Finnish collaboration between partners in the nonwovens value chain. The partners are raw material producers (Fortum, Metsä Spring, Infinited Fiber Company and UPM), a producer of biobased and sustainable bonding chemicals for airlaids and composites (CH-Polymers), a nonwoven fabric producer (Suominen), an airlaid machinery manufacturer (Anpap), and a measurement and automation system supplier for high quality nonwovens production (Valmet).

The particular tasks in FoN include

• Develop airlaid material prototypes from novel fibers and binders;

• Develop bio-based and thermoformable airlaid-reinforced composites;

• Compare airlaid webs with other nonwoven types and define property-space;

• Develop of spectroscopic methods for on-line characterization; and

• Make a roadmap for identifying business opportunities for sustainable nonwovens.

New opportunities for sustainable nonwovens

The results will increase the knowhow on sustainable nonwovens and their opportunities and produce necessary information and value chains for rapid and successful market entries. The partners are able to expand their project portfolios to a new increasing market and create new business collaboration with the FoN partners. The results will also expand our scientific understanding on sustainable nonwovens, in particular structure-performance relationships, chemical interactions, and functional properties of novel airlaids and composites.

Francois Guetat joins Suominen as COO

Francois Guetat brings over two decades of global experience in operations, supply chain, and manufacturing excellence. Most recently, he served as SVP of Integrated Supply Chain at Kalmar, where he led business across sourcing, manufacturing, logistics and strategy. His leadership has been shaped by 22 years at Volvo, where he held key roles in Sweden, USA, and Poland.

Suominen reports decline in sales and earnings – Cost savings program and leadership change to drive recovery

Finnish nonwovens manufacturer Suominen Corporation has reported a noticeable drop in both revenue and profitability for the first half of 2025, reflecting a challenging global trade environment, particularly the impact of recent U.S. tariffs, as well as persistently high energy and raw material costs.

ANDRITZ sets focus on textile recycling and durable nonwoven production technologies at ITMA Asia 2025

International technology Group ANDRITZ will be presenting its innovative nonwovens production and textile solutions at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 in Singapore, from October 28 to 31, 2025 (Hall 2, D106). ANDRITZ will showcase its MMCF production plants, textile sorting and recycling, bast fiber processing, needlepunch, airlay, and life-cycle service technologies, with a focus on sustainable solutions. Discover how these innovations can grow your business opportunities and support a greener future.

OUTLOOK™ 2025: Charting a sustainable and innovative future for the Nonwovens Industry

EDANA concluded its flagship event, OUTLOOK™ 2025, last week, marking it as a major success and addressing the biggest questions facing the industry. The three-day conference highlighted the urgent need for a unified approach to sustainability, regulation, and innovation in the absorbent hygiene and wipes sectors.

Global Nonwovens Alliance unveils Inaugural Board, advancing collaboration and growth worldwide

The Global Nonwovens Alliance (GNA), a tax-exempt federation jointly founded by INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, and EDANA, the Voice of Nonwovens, announces the appointment of its founding Board of Directors. This group of leaders represents some of the most influential executives across the nonwovens value chain and reflects GNA’s mission to foster global collaboration, innovation, and growth in the industry.

SHIMA SEIKI returns to ShanghaiTex

Leading flat knitting solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, together with its Hong Kong and Chinese market subsidiary SHIMA SEIKI (HONG KONG) LTD., will exhibit at the ShanghaiTex 2025 exhibition (Booth No.: Hall N3, Booth A20) held in Shanghai, China this month. This marks the return of SHIMA SEIKI to ShanghaiTex after a 14-year hiatus, its last exhibit at the show having been in 2011.

Fraunhofer CCPE presents the “Monomaterial Design Set” – Innovative solutions for circular product design

Composite materials made from different types of plastic often extend the lifetime of products but make recycling more difficult in the circular economy. That is why Fraunhofer CCPE has developed the “Monomaterial Design Set”. This new approach helps to reduce the variety of plastics used in durable products and offers circular solutions for designers and product developers.

arena introduces renewable LYCRA® EcoMade fiber in its latest swimwear collection

Italian swimwear specialist arena has unveiled a new collection that brings sustainability and performance even closer together. Launched on December 4, the line features swimsuits made from recycled nylon and renewable LYCRA® EcoMade fiber — the first time the bio-based spandex has been used commercially in swimwear.