Living Nonwovens: Reifenhäuser Reicofil exhibits sustainable nonwovens at INDEX

"Nonwovens often accompany us from the first to the last day of our lives. In diapers, face masks or air filters, the material contributes to our well-being, safety, and comfort. Nonwovens are close to our skin so they deserve only the highest quality. This is what we stand for, this is what we live for," explains Markus Müller, Sales Director at Reifenhäuser Reicofil. "We also assist our customers to sustainably produce nonwovens from biobased raw materials or recycled material to leverage the global shift in sustainability as an opportunity." 

In fact, sustainable nonwoven production starts with the amount of material used - the less raw material needed, the better. The "Reicofil 5x" line series is specialized in this application and achieves fabric weights of 8 gsm (grams per square meter) or even less through efficient downgauging, even on 1000 m/min Composite lines containing 3 Spunbond beams.

In addition, Reicofil customers can reduce the use of fossil raw materials on request by processing biobased raw materials as an ecological alternative - for example for diapers. The topsheet material, made of bulky, soft, and industrially compostable high-loft nonwovens, meets maximum hygiene requirements at the same time.

For industrial applications, high-strength nonwovens can be processed even from up to 90% PET flakes from post-consumer waste. This is how Reicofil shows perfect ways to combine sustainability and high-performance nonwovens. 

In the medical sector, the line manufacturer will also be exhibiting its leading solutions for high-barrier medical protective clothing. In addition, meltblown nonwovens for face masks - still in great demand in many regions due to Covid - provide reliable safety and are helping to combat the pandemic worldwide. Reicofil technology therefore guarantees maximum safety, with filtration efficiencies of up to 99% (N99 / FFP3 standard), minimum quality fluctuations, and extremely high line availability at the same time.

With the current RF5 machine generation, Reicofil also sets benchmarks in terms of quality, performance, availability, efficiency, and machine intelligence - for challenging applications in hygiene, medical, and industrial sectors.