A coffee with Mr. Roberto Marcora, sales technical manager of COMERIO ERCOLE S.p.A. with long experience in the nonwovens field:

Tell us about Comerio Ercole’s showing at this year’s INDEX exhibition.

Marcora: COMERIO ERCOLE, an Italian company founded in 1885 and a leader in calendering processes, attended INDEX 2020/21 to strengthen its contacts with its many customers after the period of the pandemic, which, however, saw a frenetic activity throughout the hygienic-sanitary sector and consequently kept us “in the forefront” alongside our customers.

I know calendering is a crucial step in the production of many nonwovens and is very precisely engineered. Are there any important new technological innovations in calendaring that you can tell us about?

Marcora: We live in a time of great scientific, cultural, geographical and technical contamination; the nonwovens sector, which has always been very versatile and used to change, could not therefore remain excluded. The most interesting news nowadays seems to be the “combination” between the world of classic nonwovens, mostly based on artificial fibers, and the world of TISSUE, where the use of cellulose pulp plays a predominant role. This mix of technologies, originally present almost only in the SPUNLACED segment, is now also present in extrusion declinations and therefore suitable to be thermobonded, such as MELTBLOWN or SPUNBONDED.

What is the purpose of this new technology?

Marcora: The main purpose of this new technology is twofold: on one hand to have products with a reduced quantity of polymers, therefore more “GREEN”, on the other hand to significantly improve the comfort of use by being much softer and WETTABLE.

The basic cohesion technology, referred to this category of new products, is therefore that of thermal calendering which, however, must ensure / respect the original softness and BULKINESS.

What type of machine is suitable for this process?

Marcora: The calender suitable for this purpose is a machine with rolls realized with “PIN TO PIN” technology, which, being equipped with two engravings, ensures an identical heat treatment on both sides of the material being processed. In addition, the presence of an AIR GAP may be required between the rolls, for example in the MELTBLOWN field.

I guess this new technology doesn’t catch you unprepared?

Marcora: COMERIO ERCOLE has developed and patented for years two reference technologies for this new competitive CHALLENGE.

The first, called HELIX®, is based on two rolls with helical pattern with formation of the bonding point at the intersection (X) of the two patterns. This technology is also applicable in traditional products (100% polymer) and was presented by COMERIO ERCOLE, if I’m not mistaken, at the INDEX in 2014 with an objective great success.

The second, whose first layout historically dates back to about 50 years ago, when COMERIO ERCOLE was active in the production of calenders for EMBOSSED PAPER TOWELS, has now been completely redesigned on the basis of the contamination between the two worlds, equipped with the most recent KNOW-HOW and then presented at INDEX 2020/21.

This special calender called AIRPIN® guarantees, in addition to the required process speed, a positioning precision of the rolls (AIR GAP) with micrometric resolution. All this, obviously based on the construction of the famous MONOBLOCK® rolls, which ensure a very high temperature uniformity (≤ ± 1°C) under load.

However, all the variety of “standard” machines that COMERIO ERCOLE produces still exists?

Marcora: Well … there is very little standard in our work, being used to “tailoring” the machine to the customer’s needs. However, the classic thermobonding calenders are always the main part of our production, in which the DUETTO series, equipped with a revolver rolls replacement device, is confirmed as the absolute best seller.

Ultimately then, after 136 years of history, machines and inventions, COMERIO ERCOLE always follows with great attention and promptness the demands of the world that change every day…