Trelleborg expands portfolio of engineered medical fabrics

ANAHEIM, Calif.—Trelleborg Engineered Coated Fabrics unveiled new polyurethane, rubber and silicone coated fabrics at the recent MDM West show in Anaheim.

The firm said growing demands for coated materials in medical, orthopedic and surgical applications drove the need to expand its fabrics portfolio.

The other main driver is a growing trend of medical original equipment manufacturers moving away from polyvinyl chloride, giving alternative materials like polyurethane growth opportunities.

Sarah McGuire, director of sales and marketing, said Trelleborg is seeing a lot of products formerly produced using PVC being replaced with polyurethanes.

She cited a number of attributes driving the trend, primarily that PVC cannot be incinerated. In addition, she said from a performance perspective urethanes are more durable, age better and are more resistant to extreme temperatures.

"In the medical field, there's a demand for polyurethane," McGuire said. "It's heat sealable, it's greener than things like PVC. Companies are trying to move out of PVC in the medical industry. And we're working in terms of end products, coating rolled goods and selling them to fabricators who are selling them to OEMs."

McGuire outlined a number of uses for the new range of fabrics, including medical mattress covers; surgical tourniquets; blood pressure cuffs; drug delivery systems; microscopic surgical pouches; and C-section retractors that enable the surgeon to go into the cavity without having to remove the uterus and allows the patient to leave with less pain and inflatable vests.

"For urethane products, generally the need in the medical market is air holding," said Michael Laton, director of business development. "It has to be heat weldable, air holding, and then chemical and bodily fluid resistant so that you can clean it properly. And from there you dive into which application that you're talking about."

The fabrics are produced at Trelleborg's facilities Weatherford, N.C.; New Haven, Conn.; Sweden; Italy; and Shanghai. The division recently consolidated all of its rubber operations into one facility in North Carolina. Laton said the firm added urethanes technology at its Shanghai site in January.

Trelleborg Engineered Coated Fabrics is a division of Trelleborg A.B., a $3.6 billion global polymer manufacturer with a presence in more than 40 countries.