Dilo Group will Exhibit Its Enhanced MicroPunch Line at ITMA and INDEX Fairs
Johann Philipp Dilo, the owner and CEO of Dilo Group
Johann Philipp Dilo, the owner and CEO of Dilo Group, whom we interviewed for our Tekstil Teknoloji magazine, shared his expectations for 2023 and gave information about the ‘MicroPunch’ they developed with the latest technology. The highlights of the interview are as follows:
“2022 was All in All a Successful Year”
The year 2021 was a year of recovery from Covid with an impressing increase of orders and turnover. The year 2022 was a consolidation for 2021 which did not quite reach the volume but was not far off from the year before with interesting shifts in the worldwide machinery market for nonwoven plants. China, of course, as a result of the Covid restrictions, was declining. At the same time, the Dilo sales volume for the United States was increasing and surpassed the figures of China. Therefore, all in all a successful year.
Dilo offers opportunities for engineering and academic education with its dual education program
In the 120th year of Dilo engineering and machine building we have a tradition of educating most of our work force in house in a dual education system typical for Germany and therefore, we are still successful in recruiting enough young people to start the education program for mechanical, electrical, mechatronic jobs and office administration. This program has been very successful over the decades and is continuing to provide the basis of our requirements. On top of that Dilo offers excellent opportunities for engineering jobs and academical education together with a dual program of state universities of applied sciences (The Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University DHBW).
A significant part of the power supply in Germany comes from regenerative energy
Machine manufacturers do not require a lot of energy in the manufacturing process. Electrical power and gas are only a small part of the cost structure. Nevertheless, precaution is taken to develop more savings in the heating of the buildings and offices by better insulation and a mix of different energy sources, electrical power, gas, and oil to distribute the risk of lack of supply. Generally, regenerative power from wind and solar panels provide an important part of the power supply in Germany.
“Our MicroPunch technology provides significant water and energy savings”
As DiloGroup, research work traditionally focuses on production lines for the webforming and needling of staple fibre material. After years of gradual advancements in the intense needling technology, we have succeeded in achieving the industrial scale of “MicroPunch” intense needling technology. Good abrasion resistance of this intensely needled material allows the production of apparel, artificial leather, battery separators and filter media as well as medical and hygiene nonwovens.
The production of comfort tissues with a weight range of 30 to approx. 60 g/m² made from fine fibre blends using polyester and viscose has been a domain of the water-entangling technology so far.
In addition, for the evaluation of a web consolidation process, low carbon emission and low energy consumption are important criteria.
Compared to water-entangling lines, the “MicroPunch” needling line provides a drastic reduction in energy consumption (electricity and gas).We will introduce our new technology, MicroPunch, to the market, which is an advanced intensive needling process. This new direction for lightweight hygienic, medical products as well as garment or technical nonwovens will be focused on during the next exhibitions INDEX and ITMA, at ITMA with presentation of a MicroPunch line consisting of fibre preparation, carding and MicroPunch needling.
“We look forward to bringing MicroPunch to market”
Generally, our expectation for 2023 is moderate because of the general economic global environment which is heavily influenced by an energy crisis, a war in Europe, heavy inflation and the increase of interest rates which altogether give a negative influence on the economy in general. Therefore, also the nonwovens sector will be affected. On the other hand, a general debate has been started about our environment under the influence of continued waste of materials, lack of recycling, waste of energy and loss of sustainability. All this together creates an atmosphere and a motivation in order to create improvements by the application of new technology to save material and energy. Therefore, we are on a threshold for change in the industrial sector and this naturally will influence decision makers and investors and developers of new technology. The outlook to take part in this process of renovation in the industry is an inspiration for many and in this whole context also for DiloGroup. Consequently, we have a positive expectation for INDEX and ITMA this year and are looking forward to presenting MicroPunch to the public.
Interview: Özge Çağıl Sütcü
