EDANA is pleased to announce Unicharm of Japan as the winner of the OUTLOOK™ Asia Innovation Award.
During the conference, companies shortlisted for the award were given time to present their innovation to delegates and the winner (selected by attendees) was announced during a walking dinner on the first evening of the conference. Unicharm were recognised for their Moony Preemie, a disposable diaper for low birthweight babies born with a birthweight of 2500 gr or less. This was developed to suit their special care needs by offering a perfect size and round shaped structure, a structure meeting "minimal handling" protocol, supervised by neonatologists and a cute design and colour on the diaper to brighten up the parents' feelings. Used in Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar, India, Taiwan and Australia.
Takahisa Takahara, President & CEO of Unicharm was honoured by the recognition of his peers “We are delighted to receive this award for the Moony Preemie baby diaper, as we have worked very hard with our entire team for a long time to develop it, and this is adding even more recognition to a very strong market approval of this specialty product designed for a small but very critical segment of the new born population in Asia. This product brings enormous emotional relief to the parents of preemies, and also complements medically-sound solutions for them”
“With this award, we sought to showcase the commitment to innovation in our industry across the region. And we believe producers appreciate this as an indispensable requirement to thrive in the marketplace – and consumers expect it,” said Pierre Wiertz, General Manager of EDANA.
Runners up included Eastman, a global speciality chemical company, with the Eastotac™ C100XF resin, a hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin developed to address continuously increasing end market needs and environmental/regulatory changes for nonwoven hygiene adhesives formulations. This includes light initial colour, outstanding heat stability, low Total Volatile Organic Compound (TVOC) and good compatibility with various polymers commonly used in nonwoven Hygiene applications.
The other shortlisted contender was Dow Chemical with the XUS 61800.52LE a polyethylene fibre grade resin for staple fibre. This fibre allows for better processability, low smoke which can improve the workshop environment significantly, and the processing is more sustainable, reducing the spinneret wiping frequency and production intervention, ultimately providing better quality fibers to end user.
The awards were organised within the framework of the 4th edition of OUTLOOK™ Asia held at the Parkroyal on Pickering Hotel 14 – 15 March 2018 in Singapore. Asia’s premier nonwoven personal care and hygiene products conference is recognized as the ideal platform for key professionals around the globe to network, do business and catch-up on the exciting potential of the Asia Pacific region.