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RISE Innovation Award

The RISE® Innovation Award will recognize innovation in areas within and on the periphery of the nonwovens industry which utilizes advanced science and engineering principles to develop unique or intricate solutions to problems and advance the usage of nonwovens.  Nominees will be selected from various disposable and durable product categories and disruptive enabling technologies who exemplify innovation. Areas for consideration include: raw material advances, advances in process or manufacturing technologies including web forming and converting, new product or application development, or other areas that may extend or enhance the use of nonwovens.

Product Eligibility:

Companies are encouraged to nominate their own product(s) for the RISE® Innovation Award, but only one (1) product per company will be selected as a finalist. To qualify for consideration as a nominee for the RISE® Innovation Award, all nominated products must:

  • Be in or on the periphery of the nonwovens field. Examples include:
    • New disposable or durable products or applications that use nonwovens as a major component.
    • Advances in web forming technologies.
    • Advances in converting or bonding technologies.
    • Raw material advances that provide enhanced value to nonwovens: examples might include new fiber, resin, finishing, or additive technology.
    • Innovation in manufacturing including inline monitoring and sensing or advanced process control.
  • Have been introduced to the market, or to the trade, within the 24 months preceding the event date.  
  • Not have been selected as a finalist in any previous RISE® Innovation Award competition and not have been a winner of any other INDA award. A nominated product not selected as a finalist or other award winner may be nominated the following year, but no more than two (2) nominations total
  • Finalists must agree to present their product in person at the RISE® Conference and to provide a digital 300 dpi/1MB high resolution image of their product for promotional purposes.

Product Criteria:

Nominated products or technologies should demonstrate advancements in one or more of the following categories:

  • Creativity (Was there imaginative skill used to create a solution to a known problem?)
  • Novelty of approach (Is the method or thought process used to create the product new?)
  • Uniqueness (Is this product sufficiently different from others in the marketplace of its type?)
  • Technical Sophistication (Does the product/process use nonwoven technology in an intellectually elegant manner?)

Finalist Selection:

The Technical Advisory Board (TAB) of INDA will choose finalists that, in their view, exemplify the use of cutting-edge science and engineering principles to advance the field of nonwovens. If TAB determines that a product or technology nominated for RISE® Innovation Award is better suited for an alternate INDA Award (e.g., HYGIENIX Innovation Award™) TAB will remove the candidate from the list of nominations and submit it for consideration in the applicable award category.

Voting Methodology:

Finalists will present their innovation to the industry at the RISE® Conference. Voting shall be weighted equally across three voting bodies: (1) INDA’s Technical Advisory Board (TAB), (2) the affiliated Conference Committee and (3) the respective registered Conference attendees. Each group shall vote separately and be given equal weight in the final determination of the award winner. Once the weighted votes have been tabulated onsite, the winner will be announced during the scheduled conference hours.

INDA's Technical Advisory Board (TAB), consisting of INDA's President and Technical Director plus industry members with a technical background, shall first select the award finalists from all submissions and then vote on the finalist that best embodies the award criteria. Product scores will be the percentage of TAB votes obtained carried out to two (2) decimal places. INDA personnel will vote on which products make the Finalist category, but not on which shall be the winner of the Award. This will be one-third of the total score for a product finalist.

The Conference Committee, consisting of an INDA staff coordinator and industry members from the market segment of the conference, shall vote on the finalist. Product scores will be the percentage of Committee votes obtained carried out to two (2) decimal places. This will be one-third of the total score for a product finalist. TAB Members on the Conference Committee shall vote only once and INDA staff shall not vote.

The Conference attendees who register and receive a ballot as part of their registration fee shall vote for the finalist. Product scores will be the percentage of the attendee votes obtained carried out to two (2) decimal places. This will be one-third of the total score for a product finalist. TAB members and Conference Committee members shall vote only once either in their specified group or as an attendee.

The winning finalist shall be determined by totaling the voting percentages from the three voting groups and announced during the scheduled conference hours.

Legal disclaimer:
Each company whose products are nominated shall indemnify, defend, and hold harmless INDA, its directors, officers, members, employees, and agents, and all other individuals involved in the voting process from and against any and all claims, actions, judgments, demands, liabilities, losses, injuries, costs and expenses arising out of or relating to such company’s products, including the manufacturing, packaging, labeling, advertising, sale, and use of such products.