New Fabrics Enable US Manufacturers to Rethink Cleanroom Garments
Cleanroom workers say ‘goodbye’ to sacrificing comfort for barrier requirements.
(Greensboro, NC) – November 20, 2012 – Taking advantage of recent breakthroughs in production technology and yarn quality, Precision Fabrics Group has developed a new generation of specialty fabric designed to make garments worn by cleanroom workers more comfortable, without compromising air quality protection. Known as Integrity® 1900 and 1950, the fabrics provide improved comfort features like breathability, heat transmission and moisture vapor transport while maintaining the filtration efficiency necessary for the garments to perform as an effective air quality barrier. Integrity 1900 is a 5mm ESD grid construction, while Integrity 1950 is a 5mm ESD stripe.
“These are the first truly new cleanroom garment fabrics to be introduced in the U.S. in a decade,” says Steve Glosson, PFG’s market manager for Integrity barrier fabrics. "Until now, most fabrics used for cleanroom garments in the U.S. have used a very tight weave to restrict pore size in the fabric. That makes the material an effective barrier, but also limits the breathability in the garment.”
Glosson continues, “Integrity 1900 and 1950 are woven with finer yarns than those used previously. That enables us to weave these fabrics with more pores per square inch to improve breathability. And since the pore size is even smaller than that of conventional cleanroom fabrics, we don’t give up any filtration efficiency.”
The new Integrity fabrics have been extensively tested in Europe and are now in use by cleanroom workers there, Glosson says. “Garments made with Integrity have performed extremely well in terms of worker comfort and filtration efficiency,” he says. “With the introduction of these fabrics in the U.S., cleanroom workers in the pharmaceutical, biotech, semiconductor and other industries are going to be able to achieve a degree of comfort they haven’t known before.”
Integrity 1900 and 1950 are manufactured with a standard finish of MicrobeShield® antimicrobial treatment, with a fluid repellant finish available as an option. Standard colors can be made available.
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Steve Powell
For Precision Fabrics Group
336 217 4270
About Precision Fabrics Group Inc.
Precision Fabrics Group is an international high-performance textile manufacturer known for developing innovative and technically advanced fabrics for aerospace, medical, industrial, government and consumer applications. Visit PFG at www.precisionfabrics.com.
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