Charlotte-based nonwovens producer Polymer Group Inc. (PGI) reports its new platform technology for producing nonwovens made with submicron fibers is designed to offer enhanced performance attributes for healthcare, industrial, filtration and up-and-coming market applications.

The proprietary Arium™ technology produces a matrix of fibers measuring less than one micron in diameter. The fibers are said to offer increased surface area, biosafety and tunable porosity—- characteristics that improve absorbency, adsorption, opacity, softness, barrier protection, acoustic performance and high-efficiency filtration.

"Arium is a completely new technology platform for the industry that will enable us to meet the market need for increasingly cost-effective fabrics with improved performance at a value proposition unmatched by any other submicron fiber technology," said Veronica "Ronee" Hagen, CEO, PGI.

PGI has set up a pilot production line at its Waynesboro, Va., plant to manufacture fabrics using Arium technology, which can either stand alone or be retrofitted to the company's existing meltblown equipment. Last year, PGI announced a $65 million expansion of the Waynesboro plant that included a new, state-of-the-art spunmelt manufacturing line for producing value-added fabrics for medical and hygiene applications (See " PGI To Expand Waynesboro Plant, Add 41 Jobs," www. TextileWorld.com, April 6, 2010).

"While other processes can generate fibers at the submicron level, none can do it as efficiently, and with the same commercial level of throughputs, as Arium technology," said Bob Dale, senior vice president, research and development, PGI.

November 15, 2011