With 2019 already looking like another important year for the global nonwoven textiles industry, Miami, Florida, will host IDEA19, North America’s leading nonwovens trade event.

IDEA19 will follow the highly successful 2016 edition, held in Boston, MA

Taking place on 25-28 March, the event will comprise a full exhibition, insightful conference and an eagerly anticipated awards ceremony recognising the best innovations in the fast-growing industry.

A recent market report published by Persistence Market Research projects that the total nonwoven fabrics market will reach a value of €75bn by 2026. This impressive figure is expected to be brought about by a compound annual growth rate of 7% over the report’s forecast period of 2018-2026.

This growth figure has been attributed to a number of reasons, primarily the expansion of the existing application base due to a series of new applications and opportunities as a result of innovation. Raw materials research, including the development of sustainable nonwovens, is expected to be one of the market’s key drivers.

These trends and more will be discussed in abundance at IDEA19 by a combination of industry-leading exhibitors and conference speakers.

Continued growth

This foundation of innovative companies and informative speakers is a key reason for IDEA’s growth. In 2019, organiser INDA, the association of the nonwoven fabrics industry in North America, is expecting next year’s event to build on the 7,000-plus visitors that attended in 2016 when the event was held in Boston, Massachusetts.

More than 500 exhibitors attended the event, with over 70 of those based overseas. INDA is also hoping to see more overseas visitors this time around, with 39% travelling to the US for the event in 2016.

Many of these visitors will attend for the main exhibition, which thus far has attracted around 400 industry exhibitors. Companies including A.Celli Nonwovens, Andritz Küsters, Avgol Nonwovens, Berry Global, DiloGroup, H.B Fuller, Lenzing, Mogul Nonwovens, Oerlikon, PFNonwovens, Sandler and Suominen have confirmed that they will exhibit in March.

More than 7,000 visitors are expected to attend on 25-28 March

Many companies will unveil new products, technologies and textile machinery, while others will build on the success of previous events. Reifenhäuser Reicofil, for example, is likely to further promote its RF5 technology, which was unveiled in Geneva, Switzerland, at INDEX17, EDANA’s premier European event for the nonwovens industry.

Describing the benefit of exhibiting at IDEA, Jeff Slosman, president, National Wiper Alliance Inc, says: “The opportunity to see everybody under one roof in Miami saves a fortune. You would have to fly all over the world to see that many people.” Luca di Benedetto, president, ATEX, Inc, adds: “What we can do in three days at IDEA would require at least 100 days to do elsewhere.”

While many of the event’s visitors will attend for the exhibition, the IDEA19 Conference will offer delegates an insight into the latest trends, challenges and opportunities in the global nonwovens industry.

INDA states that the three-day conference will explore “outlooks for select nonwoven industries at the regional level. Speakers will provide actionable data, key drivers and educated insights for business opportunities in critical regions.”

Topics will focus on the world’s main nonwovens markets, including China presented by Chuanxiong (Eric) Zhang, PhD, secretary general, China Nonwovens and Industry Textiles Association (CNITA), North America, discussed by Brad Kalil, director of Market Research and Statistics, INDA, and Europe, explored by Pierre Wiertz, general manager, EDANA.

Similarly, INDA will also offer a number of educational short courses on the opening day of IDEA19, led by Jim Loftus, PhD, sales executive, SGS-IPS Testing. Topics are set to include making nonwovens, wet wipes, absorbent hygiene: diapers and incontinence, absorbent hygiene: femcare and incontinence, filter media: liquid, and filter media: air.

Industry recognition

As is tradition at INDA events, innovation, research and nonwovens professionals will be honoured at a special industry awards ceremony. The IDEA Achievement Awards show will recognise the best new product innovations developed since the 2016 edition of the awards in five categories:

  • IDEA Equipment Achievement Award
  • IDEA Roll Goods Achievement Award
  • IDEA Raw Material Achievement Award
  • IDEA Short-Life Product Achievement Award
  • IDEA Long-Life Product Achievement Award

The winners of the awards will be announced at a special ceremony on 27 March at IDEA19.

For more information on the event, visit www.inda.org

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