Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating, specialists for cast film, sheet extrusion and extrusion coating lines, is displaying a new production process for cost-effective film/nonwoven composites with a low grammage at ICE (International Converting Exhibition) Europe, in hall A5, booth 1300, from March 15-17, 2022. The show is being held at Messe München.

The COVID-19 pandemic and current supply shortages have exposed the dependence of companies on global supply chains. This situation is both a warning signal and an opportunity to boost and reorganise the local production of semi-finished products from the ground up. Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating has now developed a trend-setting production process termed ultrathin coating, in particular for the sector of medical protective clothing. The process will permit customers to produce particularly lightweight film/nonwoven composites with greater cost efficiency and, as a result, more competitively. The patent-pending process has several advantages: It cuts film grammage by 66 per cent; material consumption in the overall composite is reduced by 28 per cent; and it slashes costs by up to 34 per cent compared to conventional semi-finished products. Significant cost savings are achieved in various ways, for example, by replacing hotmelt adhesives, which reduces line maintenance to a great extent at the same time, the company said in a press release.

“We are currently experiencing a sustained increase in demand for medical protective clothing combined with a return strategy for local production capacity. Against this backdrop, producers achieve a fast return on investment and high profitability with Ultrathin Coating - even when production is based in Europe." What is so special about Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating’s solution is that its sister company, Reifenhäuser Reicofil, an experienced and global leading manufacturer of nonwoven lines, provided their invaluable support to the development,” Mark Borutta, sales marketing specialist at Reifenhäuser Cast Sheet Coating, said in a statement.