At the World of Wipes (WOW) conference, INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, presented the 2022 Lifetime Technical Achievement Award to long-time industry veteran Richard Knowlson.
 
The Lifetime Technical Achievement Award recognizes and rewards technical achievement in the nonwovens industry and is given to an individual with a long-established technical career in the nonwovens industry resulting in new products and processes and leading to the technical advancement and the commercial success of the North American nonwovens industry, according to INDA president emeritus Dave Rousse.
 
After earning a BS in applied chemistry at Trent University in Nottingham, U.K., Knowlson started a career in materials businesses connected with nonwovens that has endured for more than 35 years. Knowlson has worked for a number of nonwovens producers including Walkisoft, Buckeye Technologies, Concert Industries and Jacob Holm as well as suppliers such as Rayonier, Stockhausen and Huntsman.
 
In the late 1990s, Knowlson helped found Airformed Composites, a company that developed and commercialized the first multibonded airlaid nonwovens in North America. This company was sold to Concert Industries in 2002.
 
Other technical achievements include pioneering the use of superabsorbent materials in airlaid substrates (Stockhausen), the development of a novel curly fluff pulp in roll form (Rayonier) and the creation of an airlaid-spunlace process for flushable wipes (Jacob Holm).
 
For the past four years, Knowlson has served as the president of RPK Consulting, where he has worked with clients in the nonwovens, wipes and absorbents industries. In accepting the award, he credited his work with Dan-Webforming, an airlaid machinery company, and wipes maker Rockline Industries as well as many other collaborations for his success.  
 
“When we work in silos, we do not move forward,” he said. “The ability to be transparent and cooperative have really contributed to so many of these achievements.”