KELHEIM, Germany –After a fire at Kelheim Fibres’ production plant in October 2018, the Bavarian viscose fibre specialist is gradually rebuilding production capacity from its current 40% to full capacity by the middle of 2020.
While doing so, Kelheim Fibres is focused on the opportunities offered by the reconstruction of its plant. “In the future we will concentrate even more on speciality fibres. This strategy, combined with new, state-of-the-art production lines, better environmental performance, and more than 80 years of experience in viscose fibre production, will make us stronger and our business even more robust,” said Matthew North, commercial director at Kelheim Fibres. “ ‘Coming back stronger’ is our motto for 2019.”
The IDEA19 fair provides the perfect platform to prove this point: Kelheim Fibres will present a new viscose fibre speciality, Danufil QR that was specifically designed for use in disinfectant wipes. While standard viscose fibres, due to their negative charge, bind up to 80% of so-called “quats” (quarternary ammonium compounds, a common disinfectant) and so hinder their actual purpose, the positively charged Danufil QR can reduce this undesired effect to less than 10%.
Softness, excellent fluid management and full biodegradability are the typical properties of viscose fibres – with the use of Danufil QR, disinfectant wipes can now also benefit from these.
The new speciality fibre has already impressed one panel of experts: Danufil QR has been selected as a finalist for the IDEA 2019 Achievement Awards in the category of Raw Materials.
Alongside Danufil QR, the Kelheim Fibres team will showcase a broad range of established as well as new fibre specialities at IDEA19 such as Galaxy, the world’s leading fibre for tampon production, or VILOFT shortcut fibres for the manufacturing of flushable wipes.