GDM S.p.A. of Bologna has been awarded U.S. patent protection for an onboard folding apparatus that converts semifinished absorbent material into finished pant-shape hygiene pads, with the patent listing inventor Alessandro Zavalloni and a filing date of May 13, 2025 and an issuance date of September 8, 2026.

What does the apparatus do?

The patented module sits on a hygiene converting line and handles two sequential operations on the semifinished web: wing folding followed by transversal folding. According to the patent claims, transversal folding devices fold the semifinished product about a transverse line relative to the forward-motion path, collapsing the web into two overlapping halves that produce the final pants-shaped pad.

The wings on the semifinished product — a first wing emerging from one flank, a second wing from the opposite flank, a third wing, and a fourth wing — are managed upstream of the transversal fold. The patent specifies that folding means upstream of the transversal folding devices must "overturn, and maintain in a laid position on a surface of the semifinished product, the first wing and the second wing until completion of formation of the product shaped as pants."

How does the mechanism work?

Two mechanical elements carry out the wing handling:

• One or more nozzles supplying air jets
• One or more fingers movable along the forward-motion path

Together, the air-jet nozzles and the moving fingers overturn the wings and hold them flat against the web surface through the transversal folding step. The patent text confirms the configuration is designed to keep wings stable "until completion of formation of the product shaped as pants."

Why does this matter to hygiene converters?

Pant-style absorbent underwear for incontinence, menstrual care, and baby training has shifted converting requirements toward equipment that can handle four distinct wing flaps rather than the two-tab configuration common in legacy open-diaper lines. Any machine builder that controls patented folding geometry holds leverage at the quotation stage with brand owners that source private-label pant product from contract converters.

GDM is among the established Italian suppliers of hygiene converting machinery, and the filing extends the company's IP footprint into the final folding station — the stage where line speed, scrap rate, and finished-product shape converge. For contract manufacturers evaluating capex on a new pant line, the choice between a GDM-equipped platform and competing OEM offerings now factors in this newly protected folding module.

What is the sourcing and compliance read?

The patent does not disclose buyer commitments, line installations, or licensing terms. For nonwovens buyers specifying pant-shape absorbent SKUs, the filing signals that any second-source machinery order must either license the protected wing-folding geometry or route around it through alternative mechanical means. Procurement teams reviewing new pant-line tenders should request confirmation from shortlisted OEMs on whether their folding stations fall inside or outside the claims of this patent family.