With over 150 delegates from across the nonwovens and related industries in ‘attendance,’ Outlook 2020 again confirmed the event as a key industry occasion for the sector, showcasing EDANA’s mission to support the growth and promote the sustainable development of the industry.

Held from Sept. 23-25, Outlook moved to an online edition for the first time, allowing participants to engage virtually, through conference presentations, live Q&A and live interaction via Whova. The conference examined emerging global drivers, market trends, sustainability initiatives and new product developments over three days. With the conference attracting participants from across the whole supply chain and around the globe, Outlook again confirmed its position as a unique must-attend event for nonwoven professionals.

“It is a brave new step we took with this edition and I’m pleased with and proud of the successful collaborative event we witnessed,” says Mikael Staal Axelsen, CEO of Fibertex and chair of the EDANA board. “Engagement and participation in an online environment is never a given and I think it’s a credit to the team and the strong topical programme that we had such a large active audience.”

The 19th edition of Outlook opened with a keynote speech on ‘Geopolitical scenarios shaping a post-COVID19 world’ from Jeffrey Saunders and Job Henning of Nordic Foresight. A session dedicated to global perspectives followed with overviews of regional market drivers and trade flows. The day closed with a presentation of an upcoming EDANA communications campaign on the benefit of nonwoven materials. Day 2 of the conference opened with an insightful presentation from Per Brandberg of Euromonitor on the global outlook for the disposable hygiene sector. The rest of the second day focused on an examination of the challenges and opportunities of sustainability and supply in the hygiene sector with specific reference to PPE and face masks. The final day focused on innovation and sustainability in our sector, opening with a ‘realistic review of post-Covid energy and environmental plans and expectations’ by Samuel Furfari, professor in Energy Geopolitics of the Free University of Brussels.

“We have had to adapt the format of our conference format to ensure we still meet the content needs of delegates,” says Pierre Wiertz, general manager of EDANA. “And we just concluded the first ever online Outlook with the conviction that this change of format, forced by circumstances, keeps the original spirit of our Outlook conferences concept for the personal care nonwovens supply chain. I was very enthused by the engagement of delegates in this new format and the insight of significant industry players on key trends and some very exciting technical innovations in our sector.”

The next edition of Outlook is scheduled to be held in Lisbon in April 2021.