Heidenheim, Germany 04 November 2010 -- Extremely stable and robust carbon nanotubes (CNT) have been used for the first time in the manufacture of a forming fabric and successfully put to work in the Voith Paper pilot paper machine.

Extremely stable and robust CNT have been used for the first time in the manufacture of a forming fabric and successfully put to work in the Voith Paper pilot paper machine.

Many areas, such as the aerospace industry, already benefit from the material characteristics of carbon, which offers stability and can withstand high mechanical stresses. Therefore, the machine clothing industry has worked for some time on trying to integrate CNT into forming fabrics, to reduce strain and increase wear resistance.

When used on the pilot machine, the monofilament thread developed in the Voith Paper Materials Research Center proved to be extremely stable and robust. Voith Paper is thus continuing to work intensively on bringing carbon nanotubes for forming fabrics onto the market. The forming fabric is currently also the world´s largest CNT product to be used in an industrial production application.

Voith Paper is a division of the Voith Group and the leading partner to and pioneer in the paper industry. Through constant innovations, Voith Paper is optimizing the paper manufacturing process, focusing on developing resource-saving products to reduce the use of energy, water, and fibers.

Voith serves the paper, energy, mobility, and service markets. Established on 01 January 1867, Voith currently has 39,000 employees, EUR 5 billion in sales, and more than 280 locations worldwide. It is one of the largest family-owned businesses in Europe.