Dilo maintains leadership in nonwoven technology

The DiloGroup is a leading supplier of complete nonwoven lines. Experience of more than 100 years in manufacturing needling machinery guarantees customer satisfaction and confidence.

Mr. Johann Philipp Dilo, CEO, DiloGroup

Dilo is the preferred engineering partner for nonwoven production needs. It is not just a supplier of machines, components and service, but delivers nonwoven solutions custom designed. It also provides professional training and service during installation, start-up and the maintenance cycle of the equipment.

In an exclusive interview to The Textile Magazine, Mr. Johann Philipp Dilo, CEO of the DiloGroup, said: “Over 50 years of constant innovations. The brand Dilo is known for quality, reliability, high productivity, ease of operation and, of course, excellent service. Dilo’s is a premium product which is well positioned in the global market.”

The German firm was the first to produce needle looms with frequencies of upto 3,000 strokes per minute. Dilo is also the producer of the largest needle looms in the world with a total mass of over 900 tonnes. In this field, Dilo still holds the record. The brand is constantly improving its existing portfolio and innovating newer systems for better performance and a better future.

The company’s highlight at the exhibition was its “HyperTex” installation for the production of reinforced multi-layer needle felts, featuring the “Turbotex” scrim fabric machine by Ontec Automation GmbH in a compact line together with Hyperpunch needling.

Numerous fields of application such as filter media, geotextiles, roofing material, floor coverings, other technical textiles and composites require needled nonwovens with high load resistance. The aim is to increase the tensile stiffness or strength of the fabric. This is generally achieved by using reinforcing wovens.

The Dilo HyperTex installation with the Turbotex scrim fabric machine produces a reinforcing scrim, which is fed between two needle felts and is then needled together by a Hyperpunch needle loom.

Over the last 37 years, business in India for nonwovens has been sluggish, but the general feeling is that there is adequate scope for increase in business in the next decade.

Asked about the return on investment for Dilo compared to its competitors. Mr. Dilo said: “Dilo is a premium brand in this segment, due to better technology and guaranteed performance. Hence the cost of investment might be higher. But the ROI is usually 2-3 years and, in some cases, a maximum of 5 years.”

The brand Dilo has been performing extremely well in the last couple of years. It has procured huge orders from China. This marks a change in the trend, as Chinese customers are switching to German technology over the existing cheaper Chinese manufacturers.

Mr. Dilo added: “We are very happy with our current top-line, but moving forward it will be a challenge to maintain the same growth trend.”