The medical-technology unit of Tekni-Plex (Wayne, Pennsylvania, USA; www.tekni-plex.com) has installed its first European production facility for the coating and further processing of spunbonded polyethylene at the Belgian site in Erembodegem, between Brussels and Ghent. Up until now, the Tyvek brand nonwovens produced by DuPont (Wilmington, Delaware, USA; www.dupont.com) were being processed exclusively in the US, where they are also converted into packaging. It is possible that DuPont could supply semi-finished Tyvek products from its plant in Luxembourg, but this was not confirmed by the company. 

Tekni-Plex also did not disclose the investment amount or capacity when asked by Plasteurope.com. Spokesperson Melissa Green did, however, mention that the expansion is to be achieved without increasing the number of employees.

The spunbonded nonwovens of the Tyvek brand – mostly in coated versions – are intended for the sterile packaging of medical-technology applications such as catheters, surgical instruments, and implants. Coated spunbond nonwovens can be welded to transparent, flexible, and rigid films from Tekni-Plex production. It was only in January this year that the company expanded film extrusion at its subsidiary Beyers Plastics (Puurs, Belgium; www.beyersplastics.be) in Puurs.