A Giant in the Nonwovens Sector Passes

By Dr. Seshadri Ramkumar|March 28, 2024

The global nonwovens industry lost a veteran recently as C.K. Wong – fondly known as CK to many across the globe in the technical textiles industry – died last week at the age of 86.

Using his engineering background, Wong established the U. S. Pacific Nonwovens Industry Limited, which specialized in converting roll goods into consumer, industrial, and multi-use products. In addition to his entrepreneurship, he is well known for his service to the global nonwovens and technical textiles sector.

Seshadri Ramkumar (left) with C.K. Wong. (Photo: S. Ramkumar)

My path crossed with Mr. Wong in the early 2000s at the INTC conference organized by INDA and TAPPI, and, ever since, he has been a friend and supporter. I had the good fortune of meeting with him at the World of Wipes conference last July in Atlanta, which was my last meeting with him. While hosting me at lunches, he advised me about the importance of sustainability in the advanced textiles sector. His company has pioneered the development of converted products using PLA.

“Cotton can find new opportunities in the nonwovens sector as the cost will be competitive with bioplastics,” he advised in my interview with him last July. “The industry has been successful in developing food packaging and medical products using bio-based materials such as PLA.”