Fleece just got Greener at Techtextil 2007

DS Technical Nonwoven Launches a New Eco-Fleece, Hortaflex® with Ingeo™ Fiber

FRANKFURT, Germany, June 12, 2007  --  DS Technical Nonwoven is launching Hortaflex, a new eco-fleece made of Ingeo fiber at Techtextil 2007, June 12 – 14, in Frankfurt, Germany. Hortaflex, designed for mulch matting and other weed control uses, is produced in Belgium and will be distributed in Germany and throughout Europe and with selected partners in the US.

The Ingeo fiber used in making Hortaflex fleece is the first man-made fiber made from a 100 percent annually renewable resource, not oil. Conventional mulch and barrier fleeces use the world’s finite oil reserves as their source material.

Ingeo, which name refers to ‘ingredients from the Earth’, is a nature-based fiber derived from agricultural resources and is made from NatureWorks polymer, the world’s first polymer that demonstrates a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Hortaflex, made of Ingeo fiber, is an alternative to the oil-based materials normally used in weed control. It can be returned to the soil when composted under the right moisture and temperature conditions found in industrial composting facilities. This, in the long term, closes the product’s production cycle and provides an added environmental benefit, especially when gardeners or horticulturists are faced with the task of removing the barrier fabric after a few years when changing over a garden or landscape.

The Hortaflex product is offered in weights ranging from a lightweight 120 grams per square meter non-woven fabric to a rugged 1.5 kilogram per square meter fabric for landscaping, erosion protection and stabilization as well as weed control barriers and pre-seeded grow mats.

DS Technical Nonwoven can also customize this fabric with modifications such as weight, tenacity and elongation requirements, and structures such as needle-punched, calendared or laminated or with speciality functional additives.

While developing the production process for the Hortaflex range, initial tests show that with the addition of grass seeds, better germination and growth results were observed when compared to conventional cellulose carpet based structures. This combined with the added benefit of lighter weight structures means Hortaflex can offer a positive alternative for the existing mulch-mats for the growing trend of green roof applications, enhancing the eco-options for architecture as well as contemporary landscaping.

Based in Belgium and founded in1898, DS Technical Nonwoven is part of DS Textile Platform and has more than 30 highly skilled employees, producing a turnover of 15.000.000€ PA. The company prides itself on offering a tailor-made service with industry partners emphasising their strength and understanding of market needs. The decision to use Ingeo fiber underlines this commitment to research and material innovation in this specialized field.

For the development of other compostable applications e.g. building sector, the company is looking for structural partners to jointly develop tailor-made products. Interested parties can contact Dirk De Saedeleir at: dirk@dstextileplatform.com.

DS Technical Nonwoven Sales
Industrieterrein Hoogveld 90
9200 Dendermonde
Tel. +32 (0)52 25 83 51
Fax +32 (0)52 25.83.60
Edgard Ryckewaert - edgard@dstextileplatform.com

About NatureWorks LLC
NatureWorks LLC is a stand-alone company wholly owned by Cargill. Dedicated to meeting the world’s needs today without compromising the earth’s ability to meet the needs of tomorrow, NatureWorks LLC is the first company to offer a family of commercially available low carbon footprint polymers derived from 100 percent annually renewable resources with cost and performance that compete with petroleum-based packaging materials and fibres. The company applies its unique technology to the processing of natural plant sugars to create a proprietary polylactide polymer, which is marketed under the NatureWorks® polymer and Ingeo™ brand names.

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NatureWorks, Ingeo and the EcoPLA logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of NatureWorks LLC in the USA and other countries.