The holy grail for airlaid producers has always been entering the diaper market. Although some progress has been made, pre-formed diaper cores have not achieved any significant market penetration. The easy explanation for this lack of success is that the cost is too high. Yet we have seen many times that, for the right benefit, and even sometimes for the wrong benefit, companies have been willing to spend more. So our contention is that pre-formed diaper cores have not offered a significant improvement in performance as perceived by the diaper producer or the consumer. This article will first review the history and performance of pre-formed diaper cores and the technology behind them. A comparison will be made to in-line formed cores. Because the core has to work within a product structure, and the product structure has a dramatic influence on the requirements for the core, a discussion of structure will also be provided in light of how it affects core performance. The goal will be to identify those unique elements of core performance in association with diaper structure which can lead to ultimate success.
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