NONWOVENS

Issue 1 2012

IN thIs Issue

Trends
Market treNds

Improving on Excellence: North American Adhesive Dispensing Production, Planning for the Future . . . . . . . 2 Nordsons Real World Lab Provides Application Development and Technical Support . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Expanding Horizons . . . . . . . . . . 3 New Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Product Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 OptiBond Solutions for Nonwovens Optimum Bonding . . . . . . . . . . 5 Employee Spotlight . . . . . . . . . . 5

Welcome to the first issue of the Nordson Nonwovens Trends newsletter. For those with a long history in the disposable hygiene industry, you may remember Nonwovens Trends from the 1980s and 1990s. As our industry continues to be more and more dynamic and global, the intention of this publication is to provide you with information about the nonwovens market in general as well as Nordson Nonwovens innovations and capabilities that may help you improve your production and product quality. We appreciate our business relationship and wish you and your organization much success now and in the future.

Material Shortages Result in Adhesive Changes and Challenges

Recent material shortages have been unprecedented. In 2012, several of the big players for nonwovens adhesive reportedly enacted a 50% adhesive allocation to some smaller customers, but not the large players. Crude oil prices topped $100 per barrel in 2012 (today the price remains just under $100 per barrel) motivating manufacturers to seek alternative sources of tackifying resins, historically a product of petroleum refinement. For example, natural gas is a lower cost, readily-available source (especially in North America), however not without issues. Cracking natural gas yields ~1/3 the byproducts used as the basis for resins for hot melt adhesive manufacturing. Also, there has been virtually no increase in resin production capacity as companies have been reluctant to make investments during the economic downturn which began in 2008 and from which we appear to be slowly emerging. The demand for disposable hygiene products has been relatively unaffected by the economic downturn; thus demand remains high for adhesives. Recent announcements from major resin suppliers (Eastman, Exxon Mobil, Kolon Korea) may increase production capacity, however, it takes approximately two years to bring capacity on line.
Polyolefin-based adhesives

NoNwoveNs eveNt CaleNdar

26-28 september Outlook 2012 Personal Care Products Conference Barcelona, Spain www.edana.org Organizer: EDANA 14-18 october Insight 2012 International Conference Norfolk, VA www.marketingtechnologyservice.com Organizer: MTS 29-31 January Vision 2013 Consumer Products Conference Orlando, FL www.inda.org Organizer: INDA 23-25 april IDEA 2013 Conference and Expo Miami Beach, FL www.inda.org Organizer: INDA

Polyolefins have been identified as an alternative to SBS and SIS rubber compounds used to manufacture adhesives. While resins are still required, the need is cut nearly in half. Note that adhesives used in disposable hygiene product production are generally PSAs (Pressure Sensitive Adhesives), which typically comprise a higher portion (5060%) of resin, so demand is still high. Polyolefin-based adhesives process differently. For example, the viscosity is generally higher so temperatures may need to be adjusted upward to process them properly. The Signature process, for example, has been tested with a sampling of these materials and a 5-10 C temperature increase was needed. Contact slot applications, which generally have a wider operating window, appear to not require this adjustment. continued on page 2

Nordson Nonwovens Trends | Issue 1 2012

NordsoN orgaNIzatIoNal News

Improving on Excellence: North American Adhesive Dispensing Production, Planning for the Future
Nordson recently opened new North American manufacturing operations in Swainsboro, GA and John Creek, GA to support ongoing growth and enhance its leadership in global markets the company serves. The new factories will absorb manufacturing of products formerly produced in the Norcross and Dawsonville (Georgia) factories, which have been closed. This 24-month project was completed in May 2012. According to Chris Brooks, director of operations & engineering, The U.S. factory consolidation creates greater operational efficiencies and improves customer response times for Nordsons Adhesive Dispensing Systems business. Its a win-win for Nordson and our customers. The expanded and relocated Swainsboro facility will focus on higher volume, standardized systems and products. These products include ProBlue adhesive melters; ProBlue Fulfill automated fill systems; Blue Series dispensing guns, modules and hoses; and Saturn nozzles and solenoids.

swainsboro, ga

Johns Creek, ga

Additional manufacturing in the Johns Creek facility will be for lower volume, more highly-engineered and customized systems and products. Explains Jeff Skimel, Johns Creek factory manager, Most applicators and spray nozzles used for the nonwovens market will be produced here, as well as the sophisticated VersaBlue XN and XC PLC melters. These product lines in particular will benefit from being produced in the same facility where development labs, engineering and product management are located. Also, constructing a new facility has given us the opportunity to update processes and infrastructure such as electrical systems and space allocation for an expanded system staging area. Nonwovens has adopted a Strategic Deployment Process (SDP) which will lend structure and focus to activities supporting the long-term health and prosperity of our businesses. For the Nonwovens business we are tasked with developing a roadmap in support of next generation developments. A global marketing team is being assembled to support activities associated with this effort. The focus is on understanding the global market today and where it is heading in the future. These findings will serve as the foundation of developments intended to improve Nordson competitiveness through alignment of a next generation of equipment offerings with the needs of our customers. We are excited to have an opportunity to focus on developing a long-term strategic vision including business and system level developments, rather than product enhancements. These system level developments will leverage Nordsons portfolio of existing technology elements as well as new technologies to raise the bar and differentiate Nordson from the competition through customer recognized value.

Material Shortages, cont. Special precautions are advised when transitioning to polyolefinbased adhesives, as these materials are generally not compatible with traditional material formulations. A thorough, methodical purge of the adhesive delivery and dispensing system is advised to reduce likelihood of issues arising due to material changes. Poorly managed material transitions may lead to material gelling, and compromised adhesive system function. It has been reported that a major European adhesive supplier attempted to source adhesive from the U.S. to supplement European supply, which led to major issues. Noteworthy is that changes to adhesive formulations have been generally focused on construction adhesives, though some adhesive suppliers are working on polyolefin-based formulations for elastic attachment. Usage of elastic attachment adhesives is far lower and thus the reward of changing material is not as great.
rosin-ester Based adhesives

have been low cost, however today they are at near parity with hydrocarbon-based materials; a poor crop harvest in China led to shortages and increased price. The increased cost has further increased demand for the hydrocarbon-based materials, compounding the shortage. Rosin-ester based adhesives have been at the root of issues reported with adhesive dispensing equipment. Corrosion of melter pump gear sets and dispensing module needle stems has resulted in vastly reduced equipment life in some cases. Nordson has made adjustments to materials used in the construction of the affected equipment to increase corrosion resistance and provide acceptable life. Examples include the PR-series pumps used in VersaBlue and AltaBlue melters and SpeedCoat material dispensing modules. Nordson continues to work closely with material suppliers to understand changes affecting our equipment and appropriate steps to take proactively to avoid issues impacting our customers productivity.

Rosin-ester based adhesives, historically used in tape and label applications, are crop based. In China, for example, they are extracted from the gum tree (tapped). Historically rosin-ester based adhesives

Nordson Nonwovens Trends | Issue 1 2012

Nordsons Real World Lab Provides Application Development and Technical Support
Nordson was built on a foundation of technology investment, innovation and development which continues to this day. Nordson Nonwovens enjoys unparalleled support from a dedicated application and development lab in the Johns Creek, Georgia facility. Nordson is uniquely positioned to support our innovative nonwovens customers, says Ed Presley, Nordson adhesive lab manager. A fully-equipped, dedicated lab allows us to identify the equipment and materials that deliver the best results for diverse application requirements, finding the optimum balance between output and efficiency while maintaining high quality. The centerpiece of the Johns Creek nonwovens lab is the highspeed winder, a CTL-4600 designed and manufactured by Nordson Engineering in Luneburg, Germany. With a maximum line speed of 650 meters per minute; two unwinds and one rewind; four strand elastic unwind; and, a maximum substrate roll size of 800 mm diameter and 380 mm width, the winder can be set-up to simulate the vast majority of nonwovens applications. Nordson applicators, modules and nozzles can be tested in various configurations and with a variety of adhesives, nonwoven and poly films, as well as elastics to determine what will work best in the real world without wasting valuable, expensive production time on experimentation. Advanced tools such as a high-speed video can be used with the winder to capture a revealing view of adhesive dispensing not visible to the naked eye.

Having such a well-equipped, real world lab benefits everybody in the nonwovens supply chain...

Additionally, a vision system from AccuSentry supports elastic strand adhesive attachment testing and trials. This vision system improves efficiency in setting up and optimizing elastic attachment applications. This adhesive profiling system includes a specialized camera and UV light. It monitors presence/ absence of adhesive, verifies adhesive position, profiles adhesive add-on rates, and models process settings which are reported as a dashboard consisting of up to twelve process parameters. We have also invested in specialized tools and instrumentation to support performance testing such as peel strength, retractive force and creep resistance. And, our test capabilities are supplemented by material analysis capabilities provided by Nordson corporate, including: Acid value (ASTM D-465) Lubricity (ASTM D-2266) Heat age testing (@350 F for 48 hours) Brookfield viscosity Differential scanner In addition, Nordson has relationships with leading universities in Germany and the U.S. to expand our analytical and test capabilities. Having such a well-equipped, real world lab benefits everybody in the nonwovens supply chain, says Deland Bragg, lead Nordson nonwovens lab technician. Nordson, equipment co-suppliers, material suppliers and end customers can see exactly how each combination of equipment and materials will interact in a real world scenario. Additional technical support comes from general and nonwovensspecific application adhesive development and testing labs in Johns Creek, Georgia; Luneburg, Germany; Tokyo, Japan; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Shanghai, China. Future Trends publications will highlight the capabilities of these labs as well.

Deland Bragg,
expanding horizons

lead Nordson nonwovens lab technician

Nordson is always in search of new opportunities to expand both the knowledge and products we bring to our current and future customers. A recent series of acquisitions gives us a solid platform of critical plastic processing equipment components that serve the plastic extrusion and injection molding markets for plastic packaging and a variety of other end markets. Acquisition of Belgium-based Verbruggen in mid-2011 and U.S.based EDI Holdings and Xaloy Superior Holdings in second quarter 2012 expand our core strengths to include slot coating and flat dies as well as melt delivery components for film and sheet extrusion and injection molding machinery. Conversion of thermoplastic pellets into sheets, films and coatings is complementary technology to our existing hot melt adhesive dispensing products. Combining the knowledge and expertise of these various companies will yield a better understanding of customer needs and a stronger product offering to those customers.

Nordson Nonwovens Trends | Issue 1 2012

New ProduCts

Allegro Nozzles for Elastic Attachment

The newly-released Allegro elastic attachment nozzle is a patent-pending, novel air-assisted contact coating technology. Developed to support demanding high-speed, intermittent elastic attachment, Allegro nozzles: facilitate high-speed production lines, up to 650 m/min. support close-center elastic configurations, as close as 2 mm offer an improved and durable design for easier maintenance and extended service life deliver a wide operating window, both for processing parameters as well as materials Allegro nozzles have an integral strand guide to stabilize elastic strands prior to adhesive application. Process air is used post adhesiveapplication to form the still molten adhesive around the entire strand. The technology delivers a consistent, repeatable coating with exceptionally low variability. All-steel construction with a proprietary coating enhances durability and resistance to wear common in high-speed elastic guiding. Allegro nozzles are compatible with Universal modules and most common configurations will be stocked for rapid delivery. Special nozzles in lengths up to 175 mm are available. An animation video on YouTube illustrates the Allegro process.

ProduCt uPdates

Speed-Coat Modules
The Speed-Coat Generation II module was released earlier this year. The new module improves overall performance, reliability and service life by eliminating sources of variability. The new design reflects enhancements to improve the durability of components, improve resistance to corrosion and wear, and simplify assembly/ rebuild. These updated Speed-Coat modules were qualified through extensive lab- and field-based testing and are fully compatible with existing applicator installations.

VersaBlue Melter Filters

Nordson recently took the opportunity to redesign the filters for our Blue Series melters. The new filters simplify filter changes and maintenance. The new designs have a single, center adhesive inlet to better retain contaminants and residual adhesive to prevent leaking during routine maintenance. Additionally, the structural integrity has been improved with a heavier, sturdier mesh cover providing a more robust design capable of withstanding the rigors of the manufacturing environment.

OLD Versa filter could release adhesive and contaminants when removed

AltaBlue Touch Series Melters

The AltaBlue touch series melters, combining highprecision, variable-speed output with simplified maintenance and operation, launched in early June. This full-featured melter is being manufactured in China for worldwide distribution. This nonwovens product offering delivers ease of set-up and operation with the Nordson Optix user interface, a user-friendly, color LCD touch screen. This interface improves the operator experience and minimizes training requirements while expanding capabilities to include graphing and data logging. Optional control boards enable pressure and flow monitoring and control; this variation management tool can reduce material consumption while improving product quality and production efficiency. The integrated flow control solution simplifies and reduces the overall cost of the system. A short introductory video the the AltaBlue Touch Optix user interface is available on YouTube

NEW Versa filter contains adhesive better when removed

Pump Gear Set Improvements

Changing adhesives and adhesive formulations recently prompted a design enhancement in gear pumps used in AltaBlue and VersaBlue melters. Though inconclusive, the premature pump failures due to corrosion appear to be linked to the growing use of adhesives formulated with specific resins used as tackifiers in certain geographic regions. These PR-series or VariSeal pumps had been constructed of standard tool-steel. Following thorough research to confirm the problem and investigate solutions, AltaBlue and VersaBlue melters now ship standard with hybrid pumps comprised of through-hardened stainless-steel gears with the balance of the construction being tool steel. Extensive lab and field testing has confirmed the effectiveness of this pump material change. For especially demanding applications, full stainless-steel pumps remain an option.

Nordson Nonwovens Trends | Issue 1 2012

OptiBond Solutions for Nonwovens Optimum Bonding

Beginning in mid-2011, Nordson Adhesives launched an initiative to identify key opportunities where we could help customers operate more efficiently. These key drivers were deemed OptiBond solutions, specifically intended to help optimize material consumption. The packaging market led the way with intermittent bead, or stitching, patterns replacing solid bead/line application for case sealing; upgrades and updates to the MiniBlue II applicator promote this reliable, highspeed, intermittent adhesive dispensing initiative. Product assembly is fine-tuning the offering and message of foamed adhesive dispensing in several targeted applications; a family of dispensing systems effectively produces homogeneous foams for bonding, sealing and gasketing. OptiBond solutions for nonwovens encompass our variation management options and opportunities. Never before in our history have we had such a wide range of product choices to help monitor and/ or control adhesive flow with such precision, even during production ramp up and ramp down. Current offerings include functionality such as pressure build and products such as TruFlow dividers and applicators and GP200 metering stations. Additional developments are underway to fortify our capabilities. While many of you may be familiar with the concept, simply put variation management means minimizing production waste: waste of raw materials, product scrap, maintenance time and equipment utilization. While complete elimination of waste is impossible, steps can be put in place to minimize it. This yields lower-cost, lower-weight, more environmentally-conscious finished products while maximizing production efficiency.
120

Enhanced Material Delivery System

110
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

AB-T melter w/pressure build & closed-loop flow control

MD variation is minimal Saleable product is claimed sooner, waste is reduced
MD Variation

Ramp Up: Vastly improved Target Flow: Follows production line

Production: Close tracking

Ramp Down: Vastly improved

As the trend in disposable absorbent hygiene products is toward thinner, more feature-rich products produced at ever increasing speeds, effective management of variation in adhesive delivery and placement has become a necessity rather than an option. The time is right for Nordsons OptiBond solutions. More information about OptiBond solutions will be detailed in future issues of Trends.

eMPloyee sPotlIght
Hubert Kufner, application development engineer in Luneburg, Germany, is wellknown by many customers. He should be as he has been with Nordson for 28 years and focused on nonwovens for more than 20 of those. Hubert started with Nordson in 1984 as a field application engineer for all the adhesives markets. A few years later, with the acquisition of Meltex, Nordson had a full line of nonwovens products available necessitating Hubert to focus strictly on nonwovens. Initially assigned as a nonwovens field engineer in south Germany, Hubert started becoming more and more involved in nonwovens product development projects. This culminated with his co-creating the nonwovens development lab in Luneburg where, in addition to development work, the final staging and testing of nonwovens systems is conducted. Hubert has worked on numerous nonwovens development projects, including EP 11, Speed-Coat and Signature nozzles. In fact, Dr. Shim Plate (so dubbed by nonwovens customers) has been issued more than 15 patents with at least 10 still being active. In his free time, Hubert restores all manner of transportation vehicles. His past projects included Harley-Davidson and BMW motorcycles, and his current one involves an Airstream trailer. Thank you Hubert for your years of dedicated service to ensure the success of the Nordson nonwovens team and our customers; we look forward to many more!

3.7 4.5 5.3 6.1 7.0 7.8 8.6 9.4 10.2 11.1 11.9 12.7 13.5 14.3 15.2 16.0 16.8 17.6 18.4 19.3 20.1 20.9 21.7 22.5 23.3 24.2 25.0 25.8 26.6 27.4 28.3 29.1 29.9 30.7 31.5 32.4 33.2 34.0 34.8 35.6 36.5 37.3 38.1 38.9

Target Adhesive Flow

Actual Adhesive Flow

time

Nordson trademarks in this issue of Trends include:

Allegro AltaBlue Blue Series Control Coat FoamMix Fulfill MiniBlue Nordson Optibond Optix ProBlue Saturn Signature Speed-Coat SureWrap Trends TruFlow Universal VersaBlue

Nonwovens Trends is a publication of Nordson Corporation. Please submit any feedback or suggestions to: Co-editor: Alan Ramspeck, aramspeck@nordson.com Co-editor: Elizabeth Jordan, ejordan@nordson.com 2012 Nordson Corporation

Nordson Nonwovens Trends | Issue 1 2012