Nonwoven producers met at ANEX-Asia Nonwoven Exhibition and Conference in Seoul, capital of Korea, between 13th-15th June. ANEX 2012’s 5th version was held at KINTEX II Hall 10, the largest and newest exhibition center of Korea. Being organized in a three-year cycle, the exhibition was held in Japan in 2000 for the first time. It is stated that the exhibition is one of three biggest events in nonwovens sector in global market, along with IDEA organized by INDA in North America and INDEX held by EDANA in Europe. The exhibition, where nonwoven products, raw materials and products for production processes/machinery are displayed, is organized by ANFA (Asia Nonwoven Fabrics Association).
In the exhibition, significant business opportunities and business network appeared for nonwoven sector rapidly growing in Asia, 237 firms from 24 countries participated and 178 of these firms came out of Korea. The broadest participation to the exhibition was from China, with 81 firms, followed by Korea with 59 firms and, Japan with 17 firms, USA with 17 firms and Germany with 12 firms. From Turkey, Teksis and Bento, two strong producers of nonwoven sector, included in the exhibition. Held in an area of 12 thousand square meters, Korea, China, Japan and Taiwan participated with national pavilions.
ANEX 2012 was visited by 13.373 people from 62 countries and 5.289 of them were from out of Korea. The most important 10 group of visitors were from; China, Japan, Taiwan, USA, India, Germany, Singapore. While 66.4 percent of visitors stated that they came for research, 27.6 percent stated that they came for a new partner and 26.6 percent stated that they came for buying. In their statements, the participating companies underlined that they are pleased about the interest of professional visitors in the exhibition.
All Product Ranges Appeared in the Exhibition Fully Supported by the Sector
The managing corporations of the event organized by ANFA were Korea Nonwoven Industry Cooperative and UBM Korea Corporation, while its supporters were Korean public institutions and sector associations.
The exhibition’s fields of application covered nonwoven products for agriculture, automotive/transport/vehicle, construction, civil engineering (geotextiles), clothing/interlinings and padding materials, electronics, filtration, home furnishing and interiors, horticulture, household, hygiene and diaper/body care, industrial uses, medical, packaging, protective clothing, shoes/leather goods, wipes and wet tissue and others; and raw materials for nonwovens were also included. Some of these products were binders and adhesives, fibres and filaments, films/membranes, fluff pulp, high performance fibres, scrims for reinforcement, superabsorbants, chemicals, and other nonwoven raw materials.
Having a rich product range in terms of finished products and raw materials; ANEX 2012 has also managed to attract the attention of producers of nonwoven technology. Airlaid, drylaid, meltblown, wetlaid, needle-punched, spunbonded, spunlaced, thermal-bonded, composites, drylaid, stitch-bonded, thermal-bonded stand out among these technologies. In addition to these basic machinery and technologies, auxiliary equipment and accessories were added in the product segment of the exhibition, such as blending systems, calenders and rolls, card clothing, converting machinery, embossing rolls, lattice, measuring equipment, nozzle, needle, packaging equipment, slitting devices.
351 companies from 25 countries had participated in the China-Shanghai edition in 2009 of the ANEX exhibition held once in three years. The exhibition organized in an area of 18 thousand square meters, had been visited more than 14 thousand people. Hosting the exhibition in 2012, Korea is one of the most important chemical fiber and woven fabric exporters in the world. Korean nonwoven sector has grown for 2-3 percent in the last 5 years. This country rapidly continues to improve both their know-how and research centers, and works on nonwoven fabrics.
Global Cooperation in Nonwovens
At the Global Nonwovens Summit held concurrently with ANEX 2012, it was stated that nonwoven products are now in all fields of daily life. In his speech, Wang Yanxi, Chairman of ANFA and President of CNTA (China Nonwovens Technical Association), stated that nonwoven products offer new options for environmental protection becoming prominent due to growing population. Reminding that nonwoven products are in fields such as filtration, hygiene, household products, geotextiles, construction and automotive which are demanded by modern society, Yanxi stated that they protect the environment, help emission control, filter water and air, protect from diseases like SARS and H1N5, and upgrade quality of life. Yanxi said: “Global nonwovens production has risen from about 4 million tons in 2000 to about 7 million tons in 2009. Nonwovens production totaled 3.09 million tons in Asia last year, 1.82 million tons in Europe and 1.57 million tons in North America. Over time the nonwovens industry has grown into a more established one.”
Saying that nonwovens is a very important for a bright future in industry, Yanxi stated that they work both with INDA and EDANA for a more effective and cooperative work in global market. And, in his statement, INDA’s Marketing Director, Phil Pitt said that they were pleased about the summit, discussions by the representatives of nonwoven sector and to be a part of it.
Pierre Wiertz, General Manager of EDANA, also said he was impressed with the quality of the exhibition, the attending companies’ efforts. “Potential in Asia is huge,” he said, adding that this will continue.
