Later this month from January 27-30, INDA, the Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, will host VISION 2014 Consumer Products Conference at The Westin Galleria in Dallas, TX. Major trends and game changers affecting the nonwovens/engineered fabrics consumer products industry will be highlighted in the two and a half day program.

Kicking off the 13th consecutive year will be the Welcome Reception Monday night, sponsored by Kimberly-Clark Professional Partnership Products along with INDA. The conference leads off Tuesday morning with a diaper workshop led by diaper expert Carlos Richer, principal, Richer Investment SA de CV. The 3.5 hour diaper workshop entitled “Progressive Diaper Design: Beyond the Basics” will start with a review of key issues from last year’s workshop. Afterwards attendees take a closer look at urine’s chemistry, how it changes with age and its effect on diaper performance and take a fresh, new look at diaper tripod theory with a deeper understanding of all key diaper performance interactions. Beyond leg cuff barriers, the group will take a more advanced look at why they fail and what to do to stop leg cuff leaks. Finally, the workshop will look at adult diaper market segmentation—the gaps, overlaps, how to play the game, baby diaper market segmentation, options and why some companies do not follow the rules.

After the workshop, attendees hear a state of the industry report from Dave Rousse, president of INDA, and a detailed overview of the current economic status from Chad Moutray, chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers, as it relates to the nonwovens/engineered fabrics industry and manufacturing. Sessions on flushability, hygiene, new materials, the challenges of being green along with capturing the attention of millennials as consumers will also be on tap this year.

“For the past 13 years, the VISION Consumer Products Conference has kept the nonwovens/engineered fabrics industries abreast of the trends that impact business worldwide for consumer products,” says Rousse. “VISION 2014 gives professionals the information they need to further their organization’s interests and product portfolios. From marketing to millennials to economics, VISION delivers the best in relevant strategic information.”

VISION affords multiple opportunities for making business contacts via the Welcome Reception Monday night, table-top displays/receptions Tuesday and Wednesday evenings and the coffee breaks scheduled throughout the conference. In addition to these networking events, there will also be a new feature for VISION. “Dinner with Thought Leaders” is scheduled for Wednesday evening and this provides several small groups of VISION attendees the chance to meet with industry opinion leaders from the end of the consumer product value chain to discover what is trending, fading and on the horizon for the industry.

Visionary Award

Once again a highlight of VISION 2014 will be the presentation of the prestigious 2014 Visionary Award. The INDA Visionary Award recognizes and rewards innovation in new consumer end products that utilize nonwoven fabrics in a way that expands the usage of nonwovens.

Finalists will be announced on the VISION website in mid-December. Companies will make their presentations to VISION attendees Wednesday morning of the conference. The recipient of the Award will be announced on the final day of VISION 2014.

“The Visionary Award recognizes new consumer products that expand the use of nonwovens and demonstrate uniqueness, novelty and technical sophistication,” says Rousse. “The many nominees for 2014 encompass these qualities and we are pleased to have such a wide variety of consumer products from which we chose the finalists. The Visionary Award finalist presentations are one of the highlights at VISION and attendees will be treated to some interesting, unique information on these five products.”

This year’s finalists, selected from a dozens of entries by INDA’s Technical Advisory Board (TAB), represent the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation in the nonwovens industry, representing a number of small start-up companies as well as larger companies with brand new ideas for nonwovens. The finalists include:

• Laundry-free Linens from Beantown Bedding, Hingham, MA;
• Minwax Wood Finishing Cloths from Pacon Manufacturing, Somerset, NJ;
• Butterfly Body Liners from Butterfly Health Inc., Los Gatos, CA;
• The Upshot Solution Filter from LBP Manufacturing, Cicero, IL; and
• Air Allergy Advance Nasal Filter from Airware Corp., Scottsdale, AZ.

For more information or to register, visit www.inda.org/events/vision14.