FILTECH 2016 Going Glocal in Cologne

Show Report | FILTECH 2016

12 • December 2016 • www.filtnews.com

ver half a century since itsdebut – (see Into the un-known...page 20) – Filtech

continues to go from strength tostrength as a truly international con-ference and exhibition for the globalfiltration industry.

This year, the conference com-

prised 174 papers presented by speak-ers coming from 23 countries, whilearound 40 new companies boostedexhibitors to a record 355 in Cologne,Germany, from October 11-13.

PLEATING AND NANOFIBERSMedia manufacturers continue to

develop new ways of making filterseven more effective and the use of ad-vanced pleating methods and nanofiberlayers and coatings are two notable on-going trends.

Ahlstrom, for example, has devel-oped its NanoPulse nanofiber-coatedcellulose and synthetic media for re-

O

FILTECH 2016 – Going “Glocal” in CologneMore companies, more papers and more visitor footfall proved that Filtechis now well established as the comprehensive platform for the filtration industry in Europe – and growing all the time

By Adrian Wilson, Correspondent

Bernd Fischer and Winfried Schaefer of Roth Composite Machinery is a powerful new name in pleating and coatingequipment for filter media.



verse-pulse gas turbine and indus-trial air applications.

Designed to remove high amountsof sub-micron sized contaminants,the nanofiber layer is securely ad-hered on the upstream side of themedia to assure optimal dust cakerelease during reverse pulse clean-ing. A deep groove with good shaperetention helps to separate themedia’s pleats, with smooth pleatingassured even on rotor machines, as aresult of the strong and robust engi-neered base fabric.

NXTGENA new name in nanofibers is

Nxtgen, of Claremore, Oklahoma,which formed three years ago to meeta gap in the market and is now securingstrategic partnerships with organiza-tions in a variety of industries.

“We are first and foremost a highvolume nanofiber manufacturer,” ex-plained Nxtgen General Manager, AndyMcDowell. “We saw the mismatch be-tween the production rates industrieswould need and what was available,which led us to design and develop our

own process for nanofiber productionwhich we call HYPR – high yield pro-duction rate – spinning. With ourmethod there is virtually zero polymerwaste, which means no down time formachine spinning. We are producing atrates of up to 100 meters a minute, inexcess of ten times more than othercommercial nanofiber methods on themarket, while still producing truenanofibers.”

Most applications, he added, requirespecialty polymer blends and fibertechnologies.

“So we felt it necessary to design asystem that could be rapidly tailoredfor unique products. We produce bi-component nanofibers, gradient den-sity and diameter nanofiber matrixes,multi-polymer nanofiber compositesand even colored nanofibers. Our sys-tem makes this very easy and switchingbetween products literally takes only afew minutes. We can producenanofibers from practically any poly-mer and adhere to a vast array of carriermedia where necessary.”

20NM MEMBRANEPorex, based in Fairburn, Georgia,

introduced its tubular 20nm Ultrafilterfor demanding applications such aswafer grinding, where fine abrasive sil-icon particles and colloidal silica gelparticles range from 20-50nm and arevery sharp, with the ability to quicklydamage many types of membrane.

“The 20nm membranes incorporatethe same robust bond to the substrateas standard Porex tubular membranefilters, which are engineered for highstrength and durability,” said Directorof Global Business Development, DougFrick. “This makes them the idealchoice for wafer grinding applications.”

RPD HIFLO-S An entirely new type of 3D woven

metal media has been developed by Haver& Boecker, based in Oelde, Germany,with the assistance of the Math2MarketGeoDict simulation system.

“The traditional way of designingand testing filter prototypes is costly and

Thomas Päffgen and Jürgen Hanel of Monforts were at Filtech 2016 explainingthe benefits of the latest Montex 8500TT stenter for fixing PTFE fabrics.

The enthusiastic team at Math2Market was out in force to promote the new Geo-Dict fiber simulation programme.

time consuming,” said Andreas Wieg-man of Math2Market, which is based inKaiserslauten, Germany. “This is due tothe complex interplay of the materialproperties of the filter media, thearrangement of fibers in the medium,the physical and chemical properties ofthe fluid being filtered and the charac-teristics of the particles in the fluid. Ge-oDict is a modular package developedfor the simulation of filtration processesand its modules help gain insights intothe behavior of existing filters, and be-yond that, to develop new filter media.”

Speaking at the Filtech Conference,Haver & Boecker’s Vice President ofSales, Friedrich Edelmeier, said that thecompany’s RPD Hiflo-S material couldachieve twice the throughput volumeflow for a given pore size than tradi-tionally woven structures as a result ofits 3D structure.

SEPARATING THE WIRES“Using the GeoDict simulation tool

to predict performance we were able to

optimize the 3D structure by separatingthe weft wires from one another so thatthe number of pores is doubled over agiven surface area, but the pore size re-

mains the same,” he said. “In addition,the pore sizes can be calibrated frombetween five and forty microns, whichmeans that we can now carry out a se-

Irene and Giancarlo Bianchi of Gusbi showed automated and highly flexible workstations for the assembly of air and panel filters at the rate of up to 1,200 per hour.


quence of orders in a single productionrun. In the past, these had to be madeseparately.”

In addition, the flow conditions areoptimized and turbulence around thefilter cloth is effectively avoided.

The new filter cloth can be manufac-tured from standard diameter wires witha positive effect on cost. The companycan now also weave special materialsand is able to offer a corrosion and tem-perature-resistant filter cloth with poresizes below 40 μm for the first time.

The depth structure of RPD HIFLO-S offers a high separation effect withoutrapid blinding. Dirt holding capacityand cleaning capability have proven tobe excellent.

ENAIRSAVEEfficiency and dust holding capacity

are no longer the most important prop-erties in air filtration, said Germany’sSandler. Energy efficiency during oper-ation of the filter plant is gaining in im-

portance and influencing testing stan-dards and as a result, filter media areexpected to contribute to lower energyconsumption.

Sandler’s new synthetic enAIRsavemedia combines performance and re-duced energy consumption and con-sists of three filter layers to provideoptimum dust separation, not just inthe fine fiber layer, but also across theentire width of the media. The particlesare primarily deposited in the coarsemeltblown layer as well as the pre-filterlayer. As a result, air can still flowthrough the filter at a relatively lowpressure and, consequently, with re-duced energy consumption.

Pocket filters made from sawascreenenAIRsave are self-supporting evenwhen loaded with dust and the pocketsdo not sag when the air stream is cut off.

FOR TIGHT SPACESIncreasingly, components containing

nonwoven filter media such as air

cleaners and air intake systems arebeing required to fit into reducedspaces in commercial vehicles.

The compact design of the vehicles,additional components for comfort andexhaust gas after-treatment systems areall putting further limits on availableinstallation space.

In response to such challenges,Mann+Hummel, headquartered in Lud-wigsburg, Germany, has developed twonew flexible air cleaner concepts.

With its oval-conical shape, Exalifeair cleaners are ideal for narrow and flatinstallation behind the driver’s cabin,for example, or on top of the engineunder a long hood, as is typical in UStrucks. These filters also excel due tosignificantly lower pressure loss thanair cleaners with axial-flow used forsimilar applications. One big advantagehere is the reliable radial sealing con-cept familiar from round filters.Mann+Hummel already has productioncapabilities for these filters in place


Johannes Benzinger, Simone Latini and Fabrizio Perini of SIFA Technology were at the show.

worldwide. With the VarioPleat air cleaner,

meanwhile, pleat heights of up to300mm can be achieved with the com-pany’s proprietary nonwoven convert-ing manufacturing technology. Thisallows the filter element to be optimallyadapted to the available installationspace and interfering contours, such asthe wheel arch.

PAINLESS PTFE COATINGFinishing machinery specialist Mon-

forts has recently delivered a number ofits latest Montex 8500TT stenters toEuropean filter media manufacturers.

“This is the first system on which itis possible to thermally set PTFE fab-rics without oil greasing in the stenterchain and in the width adjustment,”said Jürgen Hanel, the company’s headof technical textiles. “This protectsworkers and the environment fromharmful oil vapors and keeps the filtermaterial clean. The guarantee of reach-ing 320°C with a very low temperature

tolerance and with an excellent hous-ing insulation is a major advantage, so

that we never reach an outside temper-ature over 60°C at any position.” In ad-

www.filtnews.com • December 2016 • 17

The stainless steel filter housing specialists – Italy’s Alteco in Cologne.


dition, the Monforts’ foam padder isable to run two different foams at each

side of the material. “For nonwoven applications this is

recognized as a cost effective applicatorwhile retaining the porosity of the ma-terials being coated,” added Area SalesManager, Thomas Päffgen. “With thefoam solution our customers save dry-ing costs and can run at much higherproduction speeds compared with a liq-uid padder. This applicator can, aftermodification, also be used for thickfelts and woven materials.”

The Montex 8500TT stenter is idealfor the preparation of filter materialsoffering a stenter frame for the dryingand finishing of both woven and non-woven, with high stretching devices inboth length and weft direction up to10,000N and at high operating temper-atures up to 320°C.

ITALIAN PRESENCEThere was also a strong showing at

Filtech 2016 from Italian companies,including Grezzana-based Alteco,


Sandler & Filtration: PURE PROTECTION

Synthetic nonwovens for air, gas and liquid fi ltration. Textile solutions

in HVAC, automotive and industrial applications as well as vacuum cleaner bags

efficient and long-lasting

moisture-resistant and bacteriostatic

shedding-free and recyclable

progressively structured and uniform

pleatable and easy-to-process

Sandler AG • Germany • Phone: +49 92 84/60-0 • Fax: +49 92 84/60-269 • E-mail : f [email protected] • www.sandler.de

From the fi rst developmental idea to the fi nished product – Sandler is your reliable partner

Booth 208

Doug Frick and Luis Pagán of Porex introduced new ultrafiltration products fordemanding applications such as wafer grinding.

which specializes in the production ofstainless steel filter housings and instal-lations for the food and beverage, in-dustrial, chemical and pharmaceuticalsectors.

With annual sales of around €5.4million, Alteco achieves 25% of itsturnover in Italy and 70% in the rest ofEurope.

The family-owned company hasbeen processing steel since 1955 andtoday its main customers are cartridgeand filtration unit manufacturers anddealers, in addition to installation andmachinery manufacturers.

“We can comply with any customerrequest and have the flexibility to meetcustomized requests, in addition to ourready-to-use and tailor-made prod-ucts,” said director Matteo Albrigi. “Allof our processes are based on lean pro-duction principles.”

SIFA Technology, based in Sassofer-rato, meanwhile specializes in the sup-ply of a range of materials and provideslogistics and assistance to air and liquid

filter manufacturers, meeting a realneed in the market.

“We focus our attention exclusivelyon the air and liquid filter manufactur-

ers and avoid any contact with the finalproduct users in order to guarantee thehighest standards,” explained companychief Fabrizio Perini. “We are experts

www.filtnews.com • December 2016 • 19

Christian Forströer and Julian Zurbrüggen of Haver & Boecker, which isachieving twice the throughput volume flow for a given pore size thantraditionally woven structures, with its new 3D woven media.

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FILTECH 2016 Going Glocal in Cologne