Freudenberg Performance Materials completed the installation of a state-of-the-art spunlaid line in Taiwan and will begin production of nonwovens for diverse markets.

The new production line is the first to feature the latest spunlaid technology developed by Freudenberg. The technology enhances filament distribution for increased material uniformity, which in turn provides customers with ease of processing the nonwovens for a variety of applications. The line also utilizes AI technology to detect variances in the material and automatically adjust uniformity as well as a high-grade IR camera to identify small melt defects. “The expansion of our capabilities underscores our long-term commitment to Asia. We want to continue to support our customers in the automotive and carpet markets with innovative and sustainable solutions that will help them grow,” says Dr. Frank Heislitz, CEO of Freudenberg Performance Materials.

In addition to new, proprietary technology, the production line features enhancements to reduce environmental impacts. All parts used in construction were selected based off their energy efficiency to lessen CO2 emissions during operation. The Taiwan site also invested in a new recycling system to recycle all start-up materials as well as scrap materials during normal operations; the recycling line will help the team in their goal to reach zero-waste operations. The spunlaid line will also run partially on solar energy supplied from panels installed on site early last year.

“The new production line will not only allow us to better serve our customers in Asia, but also do so in a sustainable way. We are always researching and implementing new ways to reduce our carbon footprint and that was something we focused on heavily while building up the line – how we could make our operations better for the product and the environment,” says Lin Gow Ming, president of Freudenberg Far Eastern Spunweb.