FET - Fibre Extrusion Technology

So good we’ll be going again! As reported in our last post, FET has now returned from exhibiting for the first time at COMPAMED 2024 in Düsseldorf. It is never certain whether a new exhibition will prove to be a successful venture until it is tested in practice, but we are delighted to report that COMPAMED exceeded all expectations. In fact, we have already booked a stand for next year’s exhibition in November, albeit in a slightly different location. As a reminder, COMPAMED is a leading international exhibition for medical technology suppliers, so FET’s expertise in pilot melt spinning equipment for precursor materials used in high value medical devices proved to be a perfect fit. With almost 40 customer leads taken at the show, we are currently working through our follow-ups and look forward to meeting two of these customers at our Fibre Development Centre in Leeds prior to Christmas … and hopefully several more in the New Year!

FET to exhibit at COMPAMED 2024 FET are delighted to be exhibiting for the first time at COMPAMED 2024 in Düsseldorf to reflect the company’s increasing profile in the medical sector. COMPAMED is a leading international trade fair for the medical technology supplier sector, showcasing a comprehensive range of high-quality medical technology components, services and production equipment for the medical industry This show takes place in Düsseldorf, Germany between 11 – 14 November 2024 and we can be found in Hall 8b Stand N36. FET are experts in medical fibre technology and innovations, designing and delivering high performance equipment for a range of precursor medical products. This includes turnkey solutions for nonwoven medical devices, wound care and dressings and synthetic absorbable sutures. FET’s established expertise lies in laboratory and pilot melt spinning equipment for a vast range of applications, especially precursor materials used in high value medical devices and specialised novel fibres from exotic and difficult to process polymers. FET has successfully processed over 100 different polymer types and its systems can melt spin resorbable polymers in multifilament, monofilament and nonwoven formats, collaborating with specialist companies worldwide to promote greater sustainability through innovative manufacturing processes.

New R&D appointment strengthens FET wet spinning team FET has continued the ongoing process of strengthening its Research & Development team. The latest addition is Charlotte Witts, who is currently studying for a degree in Chemistry at Nottingham University and will work at FET for a 12-month period. She will continue her studies in chemistry as distant learning modules whilst also working at FET. As Charlotte has a particular interest in textile technology and is keen to expand her knowledge at the cutting edge of the industry, the appointment is beneficial in all respects. She commented. “I’m really excited to be joining the team at FET and getting stuck in to the role. Sustainability is a big passion of mine, so I’m looking forward to learning how FET develops new technologies that support the textile industry in this endeavour. I hope that my previous studies within this area will help to foster new ideas.” Furthermore, FET has a development policy of bringing young people into the industry and has invested heavily in recent years to this end, helping to address the skills gap in the UK textile industry. The company’s R&D department comprises ten scientists and engineers who work closely with customers on process development and new product trials. Charlotte will be focusing on the wet spinning process which is fortuitous as FET has just finished commissioning their own in-house low viscosity wet spinning system. Over the coming year she will focus on spinning a number of bio-sourced polymers (e.g. alginate, chitosan, gelatin, recombinant proteins). These materials require a strong scientific understanding of the underlying chemistry to successfully produce a high-quality yarn. Furthermore, FET regularly gets customer requests to conduct trial work on these materials to de-risk the equipment purchase process. Customers for wet spinning technology vary significantly. In the past 12 months, FET has had wet spinning equipment supply requests from sectors such as: food, defence, textiles and medical to name just a few.     

COUNTDOWN TO TECHTEXTIL!   Techtextil 2024, Frankfurt 23-26 April. Hall 12.0 Stand A84 Once again, FET will be exhibiting at Techtextil, the leading international trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens.   Countdown …   17 April 2024 – With less than a week to go, it’s all systems go. Exhibition graphics have been designed, printed and are on the way to Frankfurt with our stand contractors. Flights and hotel have been booked, FET personnel have packed and preparing for take -off. MD Richard Slack and Technical Director Jonathan Archibald will be joined by Sales Engineer Mike Urey and Senior Process Scientist Sara T for the duration. Later in the week, two of our Polymer Process Scientists, Dylan Crane and Oliver Drewett will also be on the stand. We have always found Techtextil to be enjoyable and a successful exhibition for FET, so we are looking forward to seeing customers old and new. Bon voyage!  

FET continues to strengthen R&D department FET has accelerated its recruitment drive with the appointment of Dr Kristoffer Kortsen as Senior Materials and Process Scientist. He will report directly to R&D Manager, Dr Jonny Hunter, who joined FET in early 2023 in a growing Research and Development team.   Kris’s main area of work is in Gel Spinning of UHMWPE (Ultra-High Molecular Weight Polyethylene). His contribution will help provide gel spinning expertise and equipment in the near future to a range of industries including medical, aerospace, defence aerospace and marine.   Originally from Denmark, Kris mostly grew up in Belgium. He completed a Master’s in chemistry at KU Leuven, graduating magna cum laude in 2018. For his Master’s placement, he worked on the production of impact modifier additives for PVC at Kaneka Belgium. Continuing a partnership with this giant international chemical manufacturing company, he joined the Howdle group at the University of Nottingham for a PhD project looking into the industrial potential of scCO2 dispersion polymerisations for additive production. After graduating, he worked in the Shaver group at the University of Manchester, developing a holistic approach to plastics recycling and sustainability across the many stakeholders in the field.   Kris’s experience in industrial chemistry, polymer chemistry and engineering is an excellent fit for FET. In particular, with FET’s focus on developing sustainable fibres of the future, his experience in areas like plastics recycling, extrusion, degradation, properties etc will prove to be of great benefit.   The R&D team continues to go from strength to strength in response to customer demand and FET’s drive towards sustainability and innovation. Currently the R&D department has a team of nine scientists and engineers that performs and assists with the trials requested by customers, alongside new process developments. Whilst small, this dynamic group covers multifilament, monofilament and nonwoven spinning trials.   Alongside this, the team will be able to provide gel and wet spinning trial work in the near future. The team has a vast array of experience and has supported a huge number of customers across multiple sectors to achieve their desired goals in a timely and cost efficient manner.    

FET awarded £50,000 AMPI grant for spinneret research FET has been awarded £50,000 of grant funding to collaborate with the University of Manchester on complex spin pack and spinneret designs. The grant is awarded by a consortium led by AMPI (The Advanced Machinery and Productivity Institute) and NPL (The National Physical Laboratory). AMPI’s Innovation for Machinery (I4M) programme supports businesses in West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester as part of an overall initiative to drive innovation for the UK’s advanced machinery manufacturers to meet the challenges of developing new technology and entering emerging markets.   In this project, FET will be working with the University of Manchester to conduct computational fluid dynamics (CFD) studies on a number of complex spin pack and spinneret designs. The aim of this work is to identify areas of improvement for FET’s spin packs and spinnerets and to use computer aided designs to develop significantly more efficient versions. The goal is that the research will improve the throughput of FET extrusion systems, thus reducing the amount of polymer lost through inefficient flow paths. This development, in turn, will reduce the environmental impact of synthetic polymer processing.   This funding will provide FET with access to the expertise of four universities and the National Physical Laboratory to develop the next generation of machinery.