Piana Technology, an Italian textile company known for innovation within the fiber and nonwoven textiles markets, has been named a CES 2022 innovation awards honouree. The award honors the design and engineering of E/SMART, a high-performance nonwoven fiber technology that surpasses the qualities of polyurethane foam while reducing its negative impacts.
Piana is debuting the technology at the ongoing 2022 CES, its first year in attendance, through their virtual activation experience. E/SMART offers uncommon integration of digital wellness and product sustainability. Its recyclable and nontoxic fibers are vertically-lapped to provide even pressure point distribution, unprecedented airflow, and antiviral capabilities that outperform conventional materials. It boasts superior compressional and thermal resistance for extensive applications even at its reduced weight. Flexible integrated pressure sensors within E/SMART can enable healthy posture and sleep quality through the personalization of the products. At its end of life, it can be 100% reclaimed and molded for endless customer possibilities. Replacing the 1.3 million metric tons of annually landfilled PU foam with E/SMART would eliminate over four million metric tons of CO2 each year, leading to reduced impact on quality of life, health, productivity, and slowed environmental decline. CEO Andrea Piana sees E/SMART as an opportunity to change how we approach sustainability.
Piana Vertical Technology is a process that takes a web and laps it vertically instead of horizontally, as is done traditionally with cross lappers. Piana Vertical Technology is unique amongst other vertical lapping technology because it offers proper upright fiber orientation in the nonwoven. The vertical orientation of the fiber provides unique benefits to the nonwoven:
- Higher compressional resistance than those made of fibers oriented parallel to the fabric area
- When compressed, vertically lapped nonwovens can sustain 30-60% bigger thickness and thermal resistance
- Benefits can yield lighter nonwovens with equal properties to heavier traditional cross lapped nonwovens
