FiltXPO 2026 Honors Solberg, Ahlstrom Innovations
The Minneapolis filtration expo presented Innovation Awards to Solberg Manufacturing and Ahlstrom in two categories.
Updated on Nov. 3, 2026 in Manufacturing
INDA hosted FiltXPO 2026 at the Minneapolis Convention Center on October 28-29, 2026, bringing together filtration industry leaders, manufacturers, researchers and technology innovators. The event presented Innovation Awards to Solberg Manufacturing Inc. for its Fully Automated Liquid Management System and to Ahlstrom for Ahlstrom OptiPad.
Why it matters
The expo showcased filtration products, materials, components and manufacturing technologies, giving the industry a venue to compare new approaches. Recognition of automation and water-treatment advances highlights where manufacturers are focusing their development efforts.
FiltXPO 2026 ran two days, October 28-29, 2026, and was preceded by a Filter Media Course on October 26-27. Two Innovation Awards were presented across the Air/Gas and Water/Liquid categories, with four finalists named, though no attendance or sales figures were reported.
The players
INDA
INDA is the association for nonwovens and related engineered fabrics, which organized FiltXPO 2026 and co-organized the technical conference.
Solberg Manufacturing Inc.
Solberg Manufacturing Inc. is a filtration equipment maker that won the Air/Gas Filtration Innovation Award for its liquid management system.
Ahlstrom
Ahlstrom is a global fiber-based materials company that won the Water/Liquid Filtration Innovation Award for Ahlstrom OptiPad.
The details
The Advances in Filtration Technical Conference, co-organized by INDA and the American Filtration and Separations Society, addressed PFAS, artificial intelligence, data center filtration, water treatment and sustainability. Solberg's system combines high-efficiency liquid separation with automatic pneumatic draining in one integrated solution.
Timeline
October 26-27, 2026: Filter Media Course held before FiltXPO.
October 28-29, 2026: FiltXPO 2026 held at the Minneapolis Convention Center.
March 29-30, 2028: FiltXPO returns to Charlotte, North Carolina.
Manufacturing Landscape
The awards reflect the expo's focus on liquid separation and water treatment, areas the technical conference addressed alongside PFAS and data center filtration. Recognition in these categories places Ahlstrom and Solberg among the manufacturers shaping current filtration development.
For manufacturers and buyers, the awards point to available liquid-management and water-treatment products from Solberg and Ahlstrom. Filtration equipment choices made at this scale affect production efficiency and operating costs for plants that rely on liquid separation.
The takeaway
Automation and water-treatment capabilities are drawing recognition across the filtration sector. Manufacturers evaluating liquid separation options can compare these award-winning approaches as they plan equipment upgrades.
What happens next
FiltXPO returns March 29-30, 2028, in Charlotte, North Carolina, with more details to be published in May 2027.
Further reading
Explore more manufacturing industry coverage to see how filtration technology fits into broader production trends.
More information
Learn more about the award-winning material on the Ahlstrom OptiPad product information page.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Textile World.
