Manjushree is a renowned name in the Indian plastic packaging sector with four decades of experience serving global consumer giants in the food, beverage, pharma, health, and hygiene sectors. “With the entire length and breadth of plastic processing technologies, Manjushree has been a long-term reliable partner to global companies like P&G, Reckitt Benckiser, Nestle, Coca Cola, Unilever, Heinz, Pfizer & many others,” says Rajat Kedia, managing director of Manjushree Spntek.

“The group has a firm belief that health & wellness are the new sunrise sectors and hence wanted to pursue a business expansion in this area. On the other hand, our extensive know-how in polymer processing and decades of collaboration with technology leaders like Reifenhäuser-Reicofil, led us to believe in the evolving – spunmelt nonwoven technology. The vision of the future combined with deep expertise and experience led to the formation of Manjushree Spntek,” says Kedia.

Accordingly, the company has invested in the “World’s First SMART Reicofil Spunmelt Technology.” It is designed to deliver high performance nonwoven solutions for ICA (infection control apparel), medical disposables & hygiene products. However, it is not limited to these applications only; it believes the nonwovens business is all about providing innovative solutions for better results and cost optimization, according to Kedia.

“Although we are a new entrant in the nonwovens space, our team has a combined experience of more than 100 years and the experience of having worked with global leaders in a variety of nonwoven technologies. Our plant is designed on Industry 4.0 standards, clean operating environment and lean manufacturing principles with contactless and automated packaging and warehousing—all of which, we have brought into our green-field set-up of spunmelt nonwovens,” says Sameer Chitnis, COO of Manjushree Spntek.

Manjushree follows innovation driven culture. Innovation is not only the responsibility of R&D, but “every employee needs to innovate in their respective functional area.” Innovation is the unrelenting drive to break the status quo and develop anew where few have dared to go, says Pranay Sahu, CSMO of Manjushree Spntek. With close to two decades of experience in working in all possible nonwoven technologies, Sahu has developed a multi-layered nonwoven fabric comprising therapeutic minerals (patent granted 2022).

Sahu says, “Every part of our body, from our skin to our muscles to our nerves, requires minerals to function properly. The regeneration of healthy and functional skin remains a huge challenge due to its multilayer structure and the presence of different cell types within the extracellular matrix in an organized way. Despite recent advances in wound care products, traditional therapies based on natural origin compounds, such as plant extracts, therapeutic minerals, honey, and larvae, are interesting alternatives. Natural compounds have been used in skin wound care for many years due to their therapeutic activities, including anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and cell-stimulating properties.”

The current invention provides massive benefits for economically manufacturing medical grade nonwovens with therapeutic mineral implanted which helps in curing the wounds and other skin related issues. A mineral like Selenium is a strong antioxidant that’s important in maintaining skin elasticity and flexibility thus using the current invention, nonwovens can be developed for dry cosmetic face mask applications. Therapeutic minerals offer new possibilities for the treatment of skin diseases, enhancing the access to healthcare, and overcoming some limitations associated with the modern products and therapies, such as the high costs, long manufacturing times, and the increase in bacterial resistance.

The invention solves the drawbacks of traditional textile fabrics and discloses an efficient and an economical method for manufacturing multi-layered composite absorbent nonwovens which are wisely designed such that during the continuous production process itself the therapeutic minerals (any type of mineral) are embedded on one-side or both sides of the nonwoven. The disclosed innovative nonwoven can be tailored for medical disposables products, cosmetic face masks, bandages, medical gauze, sanitary napkins, diapers, panty-liners, dry and wet wipes for personal care, home, and industrial applications, says Sahu.