Bondex Adds Needlepunch Line in SC
Investment will meet demand for filtration and other industrial applications
TRENTON, SC – March 10, 2021 – Bondex will expand its manufacturing capacity to increase its needlepunch nonwovens output and capabilities thanks to a new investment at its headquarters in Trenton, SC. The new line will be supplied by the DiloGroup in Germany and designed to meet the growing demands of the filtration, PPE and other industrial markets. In addition to needlepunch nonwovens, the company makes hydroentangled and thermal bonded nonwovens for a wide range of applications.
“As a proud member of Andrew Industries Limited, a privately owned U.K. multi-national manufacturing company, our mission is to bring value to our customers through superior service, innovation and product quality,” says company president Brian Little.
Bondex has been producing technical nonwovens with carded thermal bond technology since 1997, serving markets including reprographics, electrical insulation, filtration, medical and home care. In 2017, Bondex launched its hydroentangled technology, specifically designed to produce heavier weight nonwovens for industrial filtration and other specialty products. Bondex’s Hydrolox® family of filtration media offers the industrial filtration market a new range of performance, which meets the changing needs of today’s industry.
This new line, which is expected to be fully commercial in the fourth quarter of 2021, is designed to run a variety of fiber types, fineness and staple lengths in a large weight range. Its components include fiber opening and blending, carding, crosslapping, drafting, needling and finishing and is meant to be a workhorse producer of needled felts for roll goods up to 90 inches wide in both fiber-supported and scrim-supported products. Innovative solutions are adapted to this efficient and economical production system with an emphasis on the uniformity of fiber distribution as well as material savings effects. Individual customer requirements and applications can be met through this complete in-house nonwoven production process. All components of the line were installed by Dilo as a general contractor and engineered and assembled to suit the high standards of Bondex in order to provide a state-of-the-art, economical production line for high quality nonwoven products, according to the company.
“This investment now gives Bondex manufacturing capabilities of three types of technical nonwoven fabrics including thermal flat and point bond, hydroentangled and needled,” says Ted Andrew, chairman of Andrew Industries. “ In addition to these three nonwovens manufacturing technologies Bondex has peripheral equipment for chemical impregnation, heat setting, calendering, singeing, laminating and slitting as well as extensive laboratory equipment used for quality control and product development activities.”
Bondex Ramps Up Mask Material and PPE Production
April 8, 2020 – To support the industry demand for PPE materials, Bondex, a producer of carded thermal bond, hydroentangled and needlepunch nonwovens, is dedicating a portion of its capacity to produce materials designed for use in N95 mask construction and materials for use in isolation gowns and other PPE applications.
Bondex develops a polypropyelene nonwoven that is used in both mask and isolation gown applications, as well as hydroentangled polyester that is also used in the construction of mask materials.
“We have implemented plans as necessary to continue our supply to our customers though the pandemic crisis,” says Bondex president Brian Little. “We have also recognized the needs in society to help battle this COVID-19 pandemic so we are adding staff in order to supply technical nonwovens for selected PPE applications in order to support these key initiatives.”
Bondex Appoints New Company President, Brian Little
TRENTON, SC – October 7, 2019 – Bondex, Inc. manufacturer of technical nonwovens and custom solutions provider has appointed Brian Little as President, effective October 1, 2019.
“Bondex is poised for growth in the nonwovens industry through our strength in carded thermal bond nonwovens for technical applications, hydroentangled felt technology for filtration markets as well as future investment plans. We would like to thank retiring President, Steve Fransoso, for 23 years with Andrew Industries, including his last five years serving as Bondex President. Going forward, we will continue to lean on the strength of our team here at Bondex to deliver superior customer service and innovation to the markets we serve. As new or existing customers desire to develop unique and exciting new products, we are ready to collaborate with them and our resources at Bondex and Andrew Industries to help us both succeed.”
Brian has over 19 years of experience in specialty fibers and nonwovens industries. Starting in 2016, he held the position of Sr. Vice President Sales and Marketing for Bondex. Prior to joining Bondex, he spent 16 years with DuPont in various technical and marketing leadership roles at DuPont, in both aramids and nonwovens businesses. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Tech.
Bondex, Inc. is proudly part of Andrew Industries and is a leading manufacturer of carded thermal bond nonwoven fabrics and state-of-the-art heavy weight hydroentangled nonwovens for the industrial filtration industry marketed under the Hydrolox® brand. Bondex offers a wide range of fabric finishing technology including chemical treatments, heat setting, calendering, laminating, singeing, slitting and more from its modern 69,000 square foot factory in Trenton, South Carolina located just outside of Augusta, Georgia. Bondex quality systems are ISO 9001:2015 registered and their nonwoven design capability offers custom fiber blends, various construction techniques, and a range of finishing technology to meet customer needs. For additional information on Bondex, please visit www.bondexinc.com or call (803) 663-1922.
Bondex, of Trenton, SC, is part of the U.K.-based multi-national manufacturing company Andrew Industries. Brian Little, senior vice president, sales and marketing, says Bondex’s parent company has always viewed the filtration industry as a strategic market as the technical and commercial requirements align with its core competencies of quality, service and innovation, and both Bondex and Andrew are witnessing growth in this segment.
“The global economy continues to expand, in part due to growth in industrial production. As manufacturing growth continues, users demand higher performance filtration media which is necessary to meet emissions regulations and productivity goals,” Little says. “Achieving this balance in filtration efficiency and plant throughput is driving growth in pleatable filter media as well as new compositions and consolidation technologies.”
One of the more recent developments from Bondex is a unique process technology that produces its Hydrolox and Hydrolox HCE products. Using ultra-high pressure hydroentangling, Hydrolox represents a new paradigm of mechanically robust felt with finer pore sizes than needle felt which delivers superior filtration efficiency than the incumbent filter felt. Meanwhile, Hydrolox HCE, which stands for “high collection efficiency,” utilizes the Bondex process technology in combination with fine fiber and splittable fibers to deliver filtration efficiency that are equal to membrane laminated needlefelt.
Bondex, which launched Hydrolox in 2017, expanded the Hydrolox portfolio beyond aramid, polyester and PPS to now include blends with PTFE, which will be commercialized this fall. “We anticipate that our aramid/PTFE Hydrolox HCE product will deliver filtration efficiency equal to membrane which can serve a wide variety of applications where membrane laminated needlefelt would otherwise be compromised,” Little says.
Bondex also developed a pleatable polyester Hydrolox product to respond to growing market needs in pleatable filtration media.
“Our market intelligence informs us of the growing needs for superior filtration performance. We have designed Hydrolox to address these needs without sacrificing permeability in a mechanically robust solution,” Little explains. “As industry needs continue to change, the filtration market desires partnerships which can develop innovative solutions in order to deliver growth. We see Bondex and the Hydrolox family of products providing value to customers with these challenges.”
As the market continues to grow, the company continuously makes investments in order to enhance its filtration portfolio. Recently it installed a new Brückner Stentor, and with this Bondex can now offer oleophobic, hydrophobic, acid resistant, and other water-based treatments to its products. The company has also recently added high temperature lamination capabilities to provide ePTFE laminated to woven glass and aramid felt materials.
Bondex introduces Nomex® and Kevlar® spunlace fabrics for industrial applications
TRENTON, SC – September 4, 2018 – Bondex is proud to announce an expansion in our technical spunlace product line to include Nomex® and Kevlar® spunlace materials for a number of industrial applications. DuPont™ recently announced a refined value chain for Nomex® E88, Nomex® E88C and Kevlar® Z11 fabrics, whereby DuPont™ will sell Nomex® and Kevlar® fiber to Bondex to produce products to these specifications for a wide range of applications.
Bondex has developed unique expertise associated with commercial product lines which utilize Nomex® and Kevlar® fibers in other specialty applications. As part of the technology expansion plan, Bondex invested in specialty high temperature calendering which is required to produce the E88C products.
Bondex is positioned to bring value to this previous DuPont™ customer base by offering superior service levels through a streamlined supply chain. We have developed a line of products which meet the specifications of E88, E88C and Z11 which customers have been purchasing direct from DuPont™, and are in position to serve your commercial needs.
Throughout the markets served by Bondex, innovation has proven to be a key differentiator for our products. Due to the agility demonstrated commercially and technically, we invite customers of DuPont™ spunlace to challenge the Bondex team to develop custom solutions which better fit your needs in these applications.
Interested customers can visit our website for more information, and you are also welcome to contact us directly through the team members listed below.
Brian P. Little
Sr. Vice President, Sales & Marketing
2 Maxwell Drive, Trenton, SC, 29847, USA
Office: (803) 663-1922 ext. 204
Cell: (706) 833-3283
brianl@bondexinc.com
Michael Konesky
Vice President, Business Development
2 Maxwell Drive, Trenton, SC 29847
803-663-1922 ext. 228
10.11.17: Hydrolox filter media, available only from Bondex, combines the benefits of needle loom fiber entangling with revolutionary hydroentangling technology to deliver industry leading dust collection performance.
– nonwovensindustry.com
07.29.16: Bondex, Inc. has invested $20 million in an expansion to add hydroentangled spunlace products to their existing portfolio, which currently includes flat and point bonded thermal nonwovens and various laminated and coated products.
– nonwovensindustry.com
