Nick Newman
Lifetime Technical Achievement Award
2001
Consultant
Education Record:
| 1945-1949 | University of Zagreb, Croatia, Technical Faculty, graduating 1949 with an MS in Chemical Engineering |
| 1949-1952 | Prior to arrival in North America, employed as a textile chemist. |
| 1952-1962 | Plant Superintendent in dyeing and finishing and fiberglass processing plants in Canada and U.S. |
| 1962-1992 | Leading positions in R&D and marketing with Kendall, Lutravil (aj-v of Kendall and Freudenberg) and again Kendall-Veratec/IP (now Fiberweb). |
| 1992- | After retirement from Veratec, Dr. Newman formed N. Newman Associates, a management consulting firm. Clients included: J.R. Starr, Veratec (now Fiberweb), Freudenberg, Hoechst (now Johns Manville) and Clark Schwebel Tech-Fab. |
Employment Record – Corporate Responsibilities:
- Director, Market Development Kendall-Veratec
- Technical Director The Lutravil Co., a j-v Freudenberg-Kendall
- Senior Research Associate Kendall R&D
- Manager, Product Development Kendall R&D
- Senior Group Leader Kendall R&D
List of Lectures and Publications:
| METAWEB – a new nonwoven process | INDATEC 1973, Washington, DC |
| Nonwoven Fabrics in Roofing | Roofing, Siding, Insulation, February 1986 |
| Wet-Laid Composite Fabrics for Protective Garments |
INDEX, 90, Geneva with Z. Mate and L. Kinn |
| Opportunities in Spunbond Polyester in North America and Western Europe |
Multiclient study with J.R. Starr, 1994 |
| Outlook for Spunbound Polypropylene and Polyester in Global Markets |
INSIGHT 94, Charleston, SC with J.R. Starr |
Nicholas S. Newman graduated from the University of Zagreb in his native
Croatia with an MS in Chemical Engineering in 1949. Until his arrival
in Canada in 1952, he worked as a textile chemist. In Canada, while working
for St. Luke Industries/Bay Mills, he developed a new process for the thermal
cleaning of woven fiberglass. This development brought him to the attention
of the Exeter Manufacturing Co., Exeter, NH (now defunct), which sponsored Dr.
Newman on a first preference visa quota reserved for top specialists essential
to the national economy. He worked there as plant superintendent for several
years.
In 1962, he joined the Kendall Nonwoven Basic R&D department in Walpole,
MA, as a Senior Group Leader, What proceeded was an astonishing number of inventions,
captured in his 20 patients, all in the nonwoven field. Perhaps the two
most ingenious developments were: USP 3,622,422, describing a composite
product where a fibrous web is bonded with a plastic film by heat and pressure.
The trade name was WEBLOY (as in an “alloy” of fiber and polymer),
commercialized as an electric tape backing.
USP 3,816,159 and 3,973,067 describe
a novel nonwoven process, respectively products, by combining pulp (treated)
with binder into a nonwoven web, forming composite products used for medical
drapes and gowns. The trade name of this invention was METAWEB and was described
in the paper Dr. Newman gave at INDATEC-1973. METAWEB was a precursor of the
medical SPUNLACE products of DuPont and PGI.
Fluent in 5 languages, Dr. Newman
was often required to travel overseas to help promote Kendall products. During
his long and dedicated service to Kendall, Dr. Newman found the time to pursue
the advanced degree of Doctor of Science at the University of Graz, Austria,
achieved in 1974. His doctoral dissertation was based on the METAWEB invention
and was published by the university.
Patents
(Issued to the Kendall Co.)
| Number | Description | Year | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| 729,848 | Canada Needled Textile Laminates, Method | 1966 | With J. Ryan |
| 766,849 | Canada Needled Textile Laminates, Product | 1966 | With J. Ryan |
| 3,356,878 | Autogenous Bonded (solvent), Needled Fabrics | 1967 | |
| 3,377,878 | Needled Stretch Fabrics | 1968 | |
| 3,459,579 | Flocked Nonwoven Fabrics | 1969 | |
| 3,523,861 | Needled Liner Materials & Method | 1970 | |
| 3,526,526 | Nonwoven Fabrics with Improved Capacity | 1971 | |
| 3,532,588 | Needled Nonwoven Textile Laminates | 1971 | |
| 3,562,088 | DUOFILM, Pressure Sensitive Tape | 1971 | With D. Satas |
| 3,616,180 | Short Fibered Nonwoven Fabrics | 1971 | |
| 3,622,422 | WEBLOY, Fiber/Film Composite Product | 1972 | |
| 3,723,236 | WEBLOY/OROFORM | 1973 | |
| 891,222 | Canada METAWEB precursor (no binder Precipitation) | 1973 | |
| 3,770,562 | Composite Nonwoven Fabrics | 1973 | |
| 3,816,159 | METAWEB, long/short fibered process | 1974 | |
| 3,831,766 | BREAKPROOF MILKFILTER Sock | 1974 | With Alexander and Sheldon |
| 3,973,067 | METAWEB, long/short fibered product | 1976 | |
| 4,355,066 | Composite Nonwoven Multipurpose Wipe | 1982 | |
| 6,054,205 | Glass Fiber Facing Sheet and Method or Manufacture | 2000 |
