Applications for durable nonwovens

Nonwovens may be best known for their role in disposable products; but, with advances in technology, these engineered fabrics are reaching further into markets where traditional textiles have been used.

Ulrich Hornfeck, board member and chief commercial officer at Sandler AG, offers examples from the German-based company’s portfolio:

• Transportation: interior and exterior absorbers, carrier materials for molded parts, seat upholstery.
• Filtration: synthetic filter media for HVAC, automotive filtration, industrial applications.
• Construction: heat- and sound-insulating nonwovens for numerous applications from roof insulation to footfall sound insulation, and from textile wallpaper to insulation for interior walls.
• Technical insulation: heat and sound insulating, insulation for pipes and hot-water tanks.
• Environmental applications: hydroponic supports, flood control, railroad construction, liners in trenchless insulation of sewage pipes.
• Room acoustics and interior design: acoustic furniture, partitions, suspended ceilings, wall decorations and other acoustically efficient furnishings.
• Home textiles: upholstered furniture and outdoor furniture, mattresses and bedding.
• Apparel: liners for outdoor clothing.

This fall, Sandler expects to initiate its first U.S. production line in a modern industrial building built for that purpose in Perry, Ga. Employees from the German headquarters, including Tobias Baumgaertel, president of the newly founded Sandler Nonwoven Corp., will train new U.S. employees in the manufacture and sale of nonwovens.

“In the long run,” Sandler Nonwoven will operate multiple production technologies in Perry,” Hornfeck says.

Janice Kleinschmidt is a writer and magazine editor based in San Diego, Calif.