This month, Technical Absorbents Limited (TAL) is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Established as a collaboration between Allied Colloids and Courtaulds – the former being a manufacturer of super absorbents and the latter being an expert in spinning – TAL has successfully developed, manufactured and launched a fiber that was inherently superabsorbent. Its Superabsorbent Fibre – or SAF as it is known – which is still manufactured at its original U.K. site and it now also manufactures and supplies a wide range of superabsorbent fabrics and yarns.

 “To mark this significant milestone, we have been looking back at some of our achievements over the past three decades – it is important to remember how it all began and the challenges we have faced along the way – as well as looking to the future,” explains general manager and Director Mike Parkington. 

 “The initial innovation and early development trials of SAF were conducted at the facilities of Courtaulds and Allied Colloids in Coventry and Bradford, respectively. However, it wasn’t long before our technology found its forever home in Grimsby on the banks of the Humber Estuary on the East Coast of England,” he adds.

 “Growing global demand for our SAF™ technology has led to various capacity expansions over the past 30-years and we have also become heavily engaged in the design and manufacture of SAF™ fabrics and yarns. These are either manufactured in-house or via a network of global converters.”

TAL boasts a loyal and expanding global customer base – over 99% of its products are exported – that operate within a wide range of industries. Its technology can be found in products, including absorbent food packaging; advanced wound dressings; filter media; structural waterproofing membranes and power and fibre optical cables.

Research and Development has been fundamental to the company’s growth, and it continues to innovate and bring unique SAF fibre, fabric, and yarn technologies to market that provide its customers with the exact super absorbent solutions they require. The team often runs full-scale development programmes over many years to engineer a specific bespoke product. 

“Today we run a 24/7 operation and employ a diverse and dynamic team of circa 50 people at our world-class manufacturing and product development facility,” continues Paddington. “Our people are central to our continued success and growth, and we are proud to promote and deliver a safe, sustainable, and rewarding working environment, where everyone’s individual contributions to the wider business objectives are understood, welcomed, and valued. As a team we are proud of the success we have achieved and are looking forward to the next 30-years and beyond.”