Johns Manville Launches Micro-Strand XP Microfiber

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Johns Manville today announced the introduction of Micro-Strand^® XP^™microfiber, a new material for use in manufacturing microglass paper used in HEPA, ULPA and ASHRAE filters. In its ongoing effort to manufacture the safest, high-performance products on the market today and using corporate Research & Development resources unsurpassed in the filtration industry, Johns Manville has engineered a unique, new glass microfiber that meets the rigid health testing standards established by the European Union for fiber exoneration. Micro-Strand XP gives manufacturers the ability to create value-added products that can be used with confidence both today and in the future.

“This product enables manufacturers to create category-leading filtration products, as well as providing the added peace-of-mind that these products will meet the applicable governmental regulations well into the future.”

Micro-Strand XP meets regulatory standards

Based on a patented glass formulation, Micro-Strand XP is a new class of microfiber, specifically formulated with a unique chemical composition to pass the European Union’s rigorous biosolubility criteria. Thus, according to the current EU criteria, Micro-Strand XP fiber glass is exempt from EU Category 3 classification requirements and is currently considered safe to manufacture and handle using only standard safeguards to protect from possible mechanical irritation.

A very small, high-performance fiber

Made up of fibers that are approximately one micron in diameter, tests have proven that Micro-Strand XP is rapidly cleared from the lungs if accidentally inhaled, making it ideal for even the most stringent of regulatory environments. Micro-Strand XP also meets the demanding performance requirements needed in HEPA and ULPA filtration applications.

“As the first biosoluble microfiber designed specifically to meet the strict EU biosolubility testing protocol, Micro-Strand XP is a huge breakthrough in fiber development for the filtration industry,” said John Robertson, global product manager for Johns Manville’s Engineered Products Group. “This product enables manufacturers to create category-leading filtration products, as well as providing the added peace-of-mind that these products will meet the applicable governmental regulations well into the future.”

“Micro-Strand XP gives us one less thing to worry about in today’s difficult manufacturing environment,” said Patrick Apfeld, vice president of marketing and business development at Lydall Filtration, a division of Lydall, Inc., a Johns Manville customer. “And with the JM brand, we know our mechanical filtration materials are as good as it gets.”

About Johns Manville Engineered Products Group (EPG)

Johns Manville, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality building and specialty products. The Johns Manville Engineered Products Group (EPG), one of Johns Manville’s two strategic business units, produces glass fibers, biosoluable glass microfiber, glass fiber nonwovens, polyester spunbonds, meltblowns and glass textile wallcoverings at 15 manufacturing locations worldwide: Spartanburg, S.C.; Waterville, Ohio; Richland, Miss.; and Etowah, Tenn., U.S.A.; Berlin, Bobingen, Karlstein, Steinach and Wertheim, Germany; Oskarstrom and Helsingborg, Sweden; Trnava, Slovakia; and Shanghai and Luoyang, China. Additional information can be found at www.jm.com.