In the past, industries knew a lot less about the environmental and health impacts of their processes and products. The paper industry was no exception. Today, we know a lot more and can take impressive actions.

Before 1980, most press fabrics were brown in color — indicating that the fabrics were treated to soften them for ease of installation, to help them repel contaminants in the furnish, and to protect them against chemical degradation while performing demanding service on paper machines.

Brown press fabrics are now a thing of the past. The development of seamed fabrics and new yarns addressed the stiffness and contamination issues. The chemical degradation issue was partially  addressed when suppliers developed different batt fibers and mills utilized better oxidizer control in their processes. But these approaches came up short. There was not an environmentally safe and sustainable treatment that equaled the chemical protection properties of the old brown fabrics.

Until now.

ChemTec is a true breakthrough when it comes to chemical protection — an environmentally safe and workplace-safe solution that competes strand-for-strand against the few remaining brown felts in the world. ChemTec is the offspring of a long-term marriage between AstenJohnson and one of its more innovative fiber suppliers. The fiber is so unique and innovative, customers are seeing up to double the lifetime of ChemTec press felts vs. the current state-of-the-art “white” felts.