EDANA closed its 2018 International Nonwovens Symposium (INS) last week, having confirmed the industry’s confidence in the opportunities and strengths of the nonwovens industry.

A warmly received keynote presentation on IKEA’s global material sourcing strategy from Anders Bergner was followed with a very well attended session with enlightening examples of credible steps into the circular economy and use of renewable resources.

“I thought the level of speakers and content, especially during the circular session, really gave the whole industry something to think about. The quality of participants was fantastic, with a really good mix of technical experts and senior executives,” says Johan Berlin of InvestKonsult of Sweden.

With a highly-praised tabletop display, and the traditional EDANA walking dinner, 215 participants from 144 companies across the supply chain took advantage of the many networking opportunities, discussing the variety of presentations from “Industry 4.0” challenges and opportunities, to recycling, innovation and new filter media. With further presentations on environmental sustainability and bioplastic material innovation,  the 2018 INS delivered on the objective to address the challenges and opportunities facing the industry.
 
Dayal Mehta from Welspun in India said that he believed the INS to be “the best forum worldwide for knowledge enhancement with excellent technical content. The great collaborative work between the EDANA team and attendees ensured each minute of the two days added value”.
 
The appreciation of the value of attending the INS was echoed by Mirsabitov Mirjalol, project manager at ADG Holding of Uzbekistan “being relatively new to the sector it was great to meet many professionals from the industry. The presentations and discussions allowed me to learn a lot about trends in the market and the latest innovations. It was truly inspiring, and I hope to participate in further EDANA conferences”

“Since EDANA last held the INS in Rome 15 years ago, sustainability as a topic has evolved from a minor interest subject to take primacy on the agenda,” says Pierre Wiertz, general manager of EDANA. “It is pleasing to hear of such positive feedback on the focus of our programme and encouraging to see industry leaders discuss and demonstrate innovations that will contribute to  sustainable business practices and embark our sector in its transition towards a more circular economy.”