CARY, NC - February 7, 2008 - A series of advanced courses designed to enhance the technical knowledge of industry professionals is being offered in a unique joint educational effort between INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, and North Carolina State University’s Nonwovens Institute.

With all of the courses offering live demonstrations of various nonwovens processes, the week-long classes are aimed at professionals looking to advance their technical knowledge within specialized segments of the nonwovens industry. All courses are located at The Nonwovens Institute at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C.

“The Nonwovens Institute has partnered with INDA to bring exemplary education to our industry,” says Behnam Pourdeyhimi, Associate Dean for Industry Research & Extension, Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center, The Nonwovens Institute. “Our goal is to promote a company's profitability by enhancing knowledge, skills and creative product development of its technical personnel. We encourage all companies and individuals to take advantage of these outstanding educational opportunities.”

Among the courses planned for 2008:

* Introduction to Nonwoven Products and Processing, March 3-6, 2008
This entry-level course will help attendees learn the breadth of the industry, become familiar with industry terminology, discover the many end-uses of nonwoven fabrics, understand the manufacturing processes and examine markets and growth opportunities.

* Nonwovens Product Development, June 9-13, 2008
This course is a combination of class work, lectures and hands-on practice that covers the entire range of nonwoven product development processes. Attendees will have access to a full range of state-of-the-art equipment to design, create and test nonwoven products.

* Nonwovens Fabric Property Development and Characterization, June 23-26, 2008
An in-depth study of how fabric properties are achieved and the various characterization methods used for evaluating nonwoven properties, structure and performance. The laboratory session of this course will allow students to see the application of these methods on products produced by various nonwoven technologies. Highlighted will be computational methods and operational concerns/solutions of each process.

* Meltblowing and Spunbonding Fundamentals, August 25-29, 2008
This course is designed to teach the A-Zs of spunlaid and meltblowing. Attendees will learn about the raw materials, technologies, tests and evaluations used to create end-use products. Live process demonstrations on pilot equipment are featured.

* Nonwoven Manufacturing Process Fundamentals, December 1-5, 2008
Attendees will learn about the chemical and physical fundamentals of materials used in nonwoven fabrics. The course covers structure property relationships and production methods.

The Nonwovens Institute was established in 2007 and serves the nonwovens and affiliated industries in Research, Training, Education and Extension, Engagement and Economic Development. The Institute is home to the Nonwovens Cooperative Research Center (NCRC), one the first five State/Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (State-I/UCRC) established by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1991. NCRC graduated from NSF. The Institute strives to be the global leader in nonwovens education and research.

For more information or to register for any of these courses, log on to www.inda.org/NCRC/index.html.