Nonwovens for tufted and automotive carpets

What a primary backing has to do

In a tufted carpet, rows of needles push the yarn through a base fabric, the primary backing, to form loop or cut pile. The backing holds the tufts in place until the back of the carpet is coated or laminated to lock them in, and it carries the carpet through every step that follows: coating, drying, finishing and, for car carpets, moulding to the shape of the floor. A good backing needs:

• Strength for its weight, so it stands up to the tufting needles and the pull of the line.
• Dimensional stability, so the carpet stays straight and true through hot coating and drying.
• An even weight across the width and from roll to roll, so tufting runs evenly.
• For automotive carpets, the ability to be formed with heat into the shape of the vehicle floor.

Why PET spunbond

PET spunbond is made from continuous polyester filaments, laid into a web and bonded by heated calender rolls. Polyester keeps its strength and its dimensions at high temperatures, so the backing holds its size through the hot stages of carpet production. It can be thermoformed and ultrasonically welded, with clean, non-fraying edges, which suits moulded car carpets and trimmed parts.

We make it point bonded or flat bonded, from 15 to 150 gsm, in white, black or any colour to your requirement. A backing coloured to match the pile is less likely to show through where the carpet is bent or cut.

Needle-punched felts for car carpets and liners

Needle punching entangles loose, carded fibres with barbed needles into a strong three-dimensional structure, without chemical binders. Needle-punched felts are used for automotive carpets and liners, and as thermal and acoustic insulation layers.

Weight, thickness, density and finish are made to order. We run PET, PP, viscose, nylon and other fibres, from 60 to 2,000 gsm, with finishes such as singeing, calendering and heat setting, and supply rolls, sheets or die-cut parts.

Which product for which carpet

Many carpet makers use both materials, for different products or for different layers of the same product.

• Tufted carpets, for buildings or for vehicles: PET spunbond as the primary backing.
• Needle-punched car carpets and trunk liners: needle-punched felt in the fibre, weight and finish you specify.
• Layers behind or under the carpet for heat and noise: needle-punched felt; for hotter areas, see our insulation felts.
• Not sure which bonding or weight suits your tufting line? Ask for samples of both bondings and test them side by side.

One supplier for backing and felt

Because the spunbond and needle-punch lines are our own, the backing and the felt can be specified together and shipped together. Rolls are slit to your width and labelled and packed to your specification. The minimum order is one 20-foot container for PET spunbond; for needle-punched felts it is one 40'HQ container, in which 5–6 different products can be combined.