The second year of the NETInc Conference was held in Atlanta, September 13-15, 2011. Created as an industry gathering place by the NET Division of TAPPI and started in 2010, the event has continued to be a catalyst for industry presentations, networking and planning. Over 100 people attended this year’s event, including academics, suppliers, manufacturers, and students.
These attendees were able to attend 13 sessions including an excellent technical program. This technical program highlighted amazing advancements in the area of nonwovens for regenerative medicine and other medical needs. The program was capped off by a Keynote talk from Dr. Anthony Attala from Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center who created quite a buzz with his discussion of the use of nonwoven materials to create scaffolds for use in the regeneration of human organs.
During this year’s conference, new committees were formed in the following 3 areas – Wipes, Geosynthetics, and Medical/Hygiene. Existing committees have been renamed to adapt to the changing nonwovens industry – Committees now are Building Sciences, Binders & Additives, Filtration, Process & Modeling, & Fibers Materials & Characterization.
If people are interested in becoming part of the NET Division and any of its committees, please contact Craig McKinney with TAPPI.
TAPPI member William “Bill” Bittle says that membership offers the best professional tools, experiences and training to help you get ahead of the competition, while at the same time making you more valuable and effective no matter what segment of the industry you are in.
“TAPPI presents a great networking experience that cannot be duplicated elsewhere,” Bill says, and it is for that reason he always urges his “reports and peers to join TAPPI and tap into its knowledgebase, publications, training, and conferences.”
An active member since 1998, Bill has served on the NET Division Steering Committee, the 2011 NETInc Technical Session Development Team, and the Buildings & Industrial Materials (B&IM) Conference Planning Committee. He has also held staff positions on the B&IM Committee and the NET Division and is currently Chairman of the B&IM Committee and Secretary of the NET Division. In September he was presented with the NET Division Leadership & Service Award and Rohm and Haas Prize at the 2011 TAPPI NETInc Conference held in Atlanta, Ga., an annual award that recognizes outstanding leadership and exceptional service to the Division resulting in significant benefits to the members and the Division.
To read more about Bill’s professional accomplishments and personal interests, visit the Member Spotlight page.
With the expansion of the presently available equipment capacity, NWI continues its ongoing investment in state-of-the art fiber and nonwoven technologies. The REICOFIL® meltblown line will enhance NWI's ability to continue its mission as a leader in education, research and product development for the nonwovens and affiliated industries. The pilot line is intended for use in NWI's research programs as well as industry research and development. Companies will have the opportunity to book the new pilot line, expected to be ready by January 2012, for developing new products, business fields and serving niche markets NC State University has also chosen Trützschler Nonwovens Technology to broaden its possibilities in nonwovens. The Trützschler Nonwovens Card EWK 413 was selected for its flexibility in handling natural and manmade fibre as well as mineral fibers while showing excellent carding and web formation results for all web weights.
Through this project NC State University hopes to add product flexibility and time to focus on new developments.
As far as business segments that are growing and vibrant, the Nonwovens industry certainly meets those criteria. But Nonwovens means different things to different people. The Nonwovens Institute at North Carolina State University would like to share an insightful tutorial about the industry, what it includes, which areas are mature and which are growing. "There has never been a more exciting time to get involved in the field of Nonwovens," says Executive Director of the Nonwovens Institute, Behnam Pourdeyhimi.
Nonwovens Tutorial