Colbond

Business background

Acquired at the end of July 2006, Colbond is a leading producer and supplier of high-quality synthetic nonwovens for flooring, automotive and construction applications and of three-dimensional polymeric mats and composites for civil engineering, building and industrial applications.

The company’s production facilities are based in Emmen and Arnhem (the Netherlands), Obernburg (Germany), and Asheville (North Carolina, USA). Regional sales offices are located all over the world.

More than four decades of expertise in the extrusion, spinning, fleecing, and shaping of polymeric materials enables us to develop unique products for our broad customer base.

Colbond brings the Group high quality product development capabilities with a Development & Application Centre in Arnhem and a Development Laboratory in Asheville.

Products and markets

Colbond’s nonwovens, geosynthetics and other three-dimensional polymeric mats are used worldwide for demanding applications in our core markets: Flooring, Automotive, Construction, Civil Engineering, and Building & Industry.

Flooring
High performance primary backings for tufted carpet tiles and broadloom carpet.

Automotive
Primary and secondary backings for moulded car carpets and option mats. Colbond nonwovens are also widely used as reinforcement and carrier substrates in hood liners, trunk liners, door panels, package trays and car seats or as support media for cabin air filters. Three-dimensional polymeric mats manufactured by Colbond are applied as core material in the production of dashboards and other composite parts.

Construction
Nonwovens as reinforcement for waterproof bituminous roofing membranes, single plies, underslatings and for crack repair.

Civil Engineering
Geosynthetics for erosion control, drainage, soil reinforcement & stabilisation and soil consolidation.

Building & Industry
Three-dimensional monofilament matrixes for metal roof ventilation, sound control, and many other applications within the building industry.

Industrial intermediates for the production of composite parts; nonwovens and three-dimensional monofilament mats for a diversified range of end-uses in various industries.

Product case studies

Environmental sustainable nonwoven backings for tufting

Colback SMR is marking Colbond’s market leadership in the development, production and distribution of environmental sustainable nonwoven carpet backings. Manufactured from polyamide and 100% post-consumer recycled polyester, this nonwoven brings the same high performance as Colback variants manufactured from virgin raw material. Colback’s unique composition is creating outstanding dimensional stability contributing to a long service life of carpets with the most complex patterns. Major carpet manufacturers across Europe therefore rely on Colback SMR for tufted carpet tiles, broadloom carpet, door mats and walk-off mats fulfilling the highest industry standards.

Colback nonwoven	Carpet tiles tufted on Colback SMR

Support layers for filtration media

Colback nonwovens specifically designed to suit the demands of the filtration industry serve as reinforcement for filter media. In addition to the application as support material Colback is also widely applied as pre-filter and spacer. The nonwoven so enhances the efficiency and durability of both air and in liquid filters (e.g. cabin air or hydraulic filters).

Colback nonwoven support layer	Hydraulic filter reinforced with Colback

Geosynthetics for infrastructural projects

Enkamat and Enkadrain form part of a broad range of geosynthetics manufactured by Colbond for civil engineering projects. Road construction, tunnelling, waste containment or residential and commercial building are examples of fields where these products are widely applied. Very recently, Enkamat and Enkadrain facilitated the development of a green roof on a major shopping mall near Naples, Italy, hosting 160 shops on over 300,000m². To integrate the building in the surrounding scenery, an efficient way to vegetate the roof was needed. The preferred solution lay in a design featuring Enkadrain drainage and an Enkamat grip layer to create a foothold for soil and plants.

Enkamat erosion control mat	Naples shopping mall built with geosynthetics from Colbond

Link to website http://www.colbond.com