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include medical--focused on traditional
wound care applications and ostomy filters--as well as
personal care
where nonwovens are used in a number of diaper and feminine hygiene
applications.
Freudenberg Nonwovens also serves the automotive market
with products for interior applications
such as primary backings for
tufted carpets and headliners.
"Freudenberg Nonwovens was positively impacted during 2010 by
the stronger-than-expected
recovery in the overall global economy which
drove an increase in sales of about 15%," says CEO
Bruce Olson.
"We also experienced a significant improvement in operating profits
due to this strong
increase in sales and the positive impact of
restructuring and portfolio management measures
which were implemented
during 2008 and 2009. In this sense, we have experienced both a
cyclical
and structural recover)' in our overall performance."
To continue these positive results, Freudenberg Nonwovens has been
implementing a new
organizational structure during the last two to three
years that will likely take another one or two
years to fully
implement.The model has the company moving toward a more regional
business unit
structure supported by a matrix of strategic marketing
units. The regional business units are fully
accountable for the
operating results within their regions and the marketing units are
responsible
for the development and global implementation of strategy in
the major markets upon which the
company focuses.
"Because of the significant differences in process technology
and markets served between our
spunlaid and staple fiber businesses, we
are establishing separate regional business units for each,"
Olson
explains.
Core markets for Freudenberg Nonwovens'spunlaid businessinclude automotive interiors, filtration
and home and industrialfurnishings. In the automotive interiors market, the key factor
drivingdemand for spunlaid nonwovens is the number of automobiles being builton a global basis.
Because tufted-carpet systems tend to be used inlarger,"luxury" models, the build rate of these types
ofautomobiles is particularly important. In the filtration market,Freudenberg supplies material to its
sister company FreudenbergFiltration Technologies where the main use is cabin air filters for
theautomotive OEM and OFS segments. In the home and industrial furnishingsmarket, the major
application is a primary backing for carpet tiles.Carpet tiles are used in commercial and institutional
buildings as analternative to broadloom carpets and other flooring systems.
After a couple of tough years, executives report recover)'
across most segments for spunlaid
nonwovens, particularly the automotive
interiors and home and industrial furnishings markets. In
late 2010,
this rebound influenced the company to restart a spunlaid line in
Durham, NC, USA,
which had been moth-balled during the recent global
economic crisis. Additionally, Freudenberg
Nonwovens has done some
debottlenecking on its newest spunlaid line in Taiwan, which was
started
up in 2007. Due to the continued strong growth being forecasted in the
Asian region, plans
to install a third production line in Taiwan are
being examined.
"We have invested in the debottlenecking of PT 2 because this
line, as well as PT 1, is completely
sold out,"Olson adds."We
are currently doing pre-engineering work on a third line for Taiwan
(PT
3). We will make a final decision on the timing for this investment no
later than the end of this
year."
While the spunlaid regional business unit in Asia is the smallest
of Freudenberg's three global units,
it is growing much more
quickly than the larger European and North American units.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
In Europe, Freudenberg Nonwovens continues to operate several
spunlaid lines. As in the US,
Freudenberg Nonwovens was forced to
temporarily idle a polyester spunlaid line in Europe amidst
the economic
downturn but got that line running again in March 2010. Meanwhile, the
company
continues to review its presence in a number of markets,
particularly those deemed to be commoditized. The company has exited
polypropylene commodity markets for hygiene but continues to focus
on
niche hygiene markets as well as automotives, carpet backings and
geotextiles.
Also included in Freudenberg's Spunlaid division is Evolon,
the company's brand name for its
specialty, bicomponent
microfilament spunlaid product--which continues to perform well in
many
technical areas. Currently, producing the material in Colmar, France,
the company is looking
into ways to debottleneck and expand the capacity
of this line to support growth in a number of
markets.
Growth opportunities also exist in the staple fiber business. Major
opportunities in this business
include automotive headlin-ers, battery
separators, water blocking tapes for cable wrap, advanced
wound care,
ostomy bag filters and acquisition and distribution layers for baby
diapers and
feminine hygiene items.
In tufted automotive interior carpet systems, Freudenberg Nonwovens
continues to have a leading
position supplying spunlaid primary and
secondary backings. To defend itself against lower cost
needlepunch
carpet systems, Freudenberg has introduced the patented Lutraflor system
which is a
composite spun-laid/needlepunch staple fiber construction
offering better performance and
significant weight reduction versus
current needlepunch carpet flooring systems.
Asia continues to be a growing market in a number of staple fiber
application areas. The company
has joint ventures with japan Vilene in
Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Korea. While these ventures
were initially
started to help serve customers in the apparel market, they have
expanded to serve a
number of other markets.
Freudenberg's largest market continues to be apparel and,
despite migration from the US and
Europe to Asia, it continues to be
strategically important. Freudenberg Nonwovens has a strong
presence in
China where it has been making staple fiber nonwovens and other
interlining materials
for many years, operating a wholly-owned
subsidiary there since 1998.
"Freudenberg has established itself as the leading, full-line
interlining solution provider in Asia for
the branded, value-driven
global apparel producers who have outsourced production from Europe
and
the US,"01son says."We believe the migration to Asia has
reached an equilibrium point and
may begin to reverse itself,
particularly as it relates to 'speed-fashion'producers, due to
rapidly
increasing labor costs and the demand to serve local markets
quickly.
We do not expect a full-scale reversal of the migration
trend."
From a product standpoint in the apparel market, Freudenberg has
been focusing most of its
attention on broadening its product line
beyond nonwovens for ladieswear, which is where the
company started.
Efforts continue in broadening and strengthening product line offerings
for the
shirt segment of the apparel market. In the past 12-18 months,
Freudenberg has added significant
technical, sales and marketing
resources in the menswear segment to help it develop new and
improved
canvas and weft-inserted products and substantially increase sales.
Apparel is not the only area where Asian growth is a focus. In
fact, through a stream of joint
ventures and wholly-owned subsidiaries
throughout the region, Freudenberg has a strong foothold
in this
important emerging economy.
"Because we have been active for so long in Asia and have
benefitted from joint venture partners
such as Japan Vilene Company and
Far Eastern, we have not really faced many cultural challenges
in
penetrating the Asian market/'Olson says."We have also worked
very hard at developing and
promoting local people into key management
roles rather than trying to run our businesses with too
many German and
Japanese expats."
Focusing on exploiting its businesses globally will continue to
help Freudenberg Nonwovens grow
its business moving forward.
Additionally, the company will rely on diversity, flexibility and
adding
value in the long term."Given the relative maturity of the
technology for producing
nonwoven base materials, we will continue to
diversify our business portfolio to become a global
provider of
performance technical textile solutions," Olson concludes."In
this regard, we will place
more and more focus on adding value through
the downstream converting of base technical textile
materials which we
will source using clear 'make versus buy'criteria."
Freudenberg Politex
Novedrate, Italy www.freudenbergpolitex.com
Headquartered in Novedrate, Italy, Freudenberg Politex specializes
in the production and
marketing of polyester nonwovens, mainly used as
reinforcements for bituminous roofing
membranes. Beyond membranes, a
range of products are sold to the constmction industry in a
number of
applications as well as to the furniture industry. Most products are
made from recycled
polyester obtained in-house from post consumer
polyester bottles.
In 2010, Freudenberg Politex reported its sales increased from
[euro]185.2 million to [euro]203.9
million as sales in roofing
reinforcements grew 11% and construction sales grew 32%.
Freudenberg Politex operates sites in China, France, Italy, Poland,
Russia and the US, from which it
supplies markets globally. According to
reports, the construction market was slow throughout the
world, but the
company was able to benefit from growth in Russia and the Middle East as
well as
developing infrastructures in emerging economies.
In 2010, a key focus for Freudenberg Politex was improving the
environmental footprint of its
products and processes. Main European
product lines, Texbonci, Terbond and Ecozero, were
certified with
Environmental Product Declarations while products manufactured in the US
at the
company's Macon, GA site obtained UL Environment Label
assessing the recycled content.
In 2011, the company consolidated its position in mature markets
against a macroeconomic
backdrop that remains volatile and to follow
growth in emerging markets where construction
demand will be stimulated
by a need for more modern buildings. Tt is with this in mind
that
Freudenberg Politex has decided to expand its Russian facility-'
with a new [pounds sterling]20
million spunbond line. The investment
will add more than 7000 tons of polyester spun-bond
nonwovens to be sold
as backings for bituminous roofing membranes and for other
specialty
construction applications.The Russian site was established in 2004 and
production started
there in 2006.
Freudenberg Filtration Technologies
www.freudenberg-filter.com
Spun off from Freudenberg Nonwovens two years ago, Freudenberg
Filtration Technologies is
Freudengerg Nonwovens' largest customer
and a key supplier of innovative filtration solutions
worldwide.
Freudenberg Filters are used successfully for intake, exhaust and
recirculating air
filtration in many industrial applications such as
production, office and residential ventilation and in
the transport
segment.
Meanwhile, In liquid filtration, these filters are used in cool and
and lubrication applications, pool
and spa, beverages and foodstuffs and
products for the manufacture of membranes and filter
candles.
In 2010, Freudenberg Filtration Technologies was able to increase
its sales from [euro]194 to
[pounds sterling]241 million as many of its
markets recovered and the businesss progressed in
acquiring new
customers and expanding its Viledon product portfolio.
In September 2010, Freudenberg acquired the Australian company
Micro Fresh Filters, which is
now known as Freudenberg Filtration
Technologies (Aust) Pty.The company is one of the market
leaders in
filtration technology for the mining industry and it is allowing the
group to expand its
portfolio and lay the groundwork for further
expansion in Australia and Oceania.
Also contributing to growth in 2010 was the launch of micron Air
office fine dust filter for document
shredders. This launch is supposed
to follow the same successful path as mcironAir cabin air filters
which
provide cleaner air inside of cars. Demand for these filters continue to
growth particularly in
South America and Asia.
2. Dupont Nonwoven
Wilmington, DE, USA www.dupont.com 2010 nonwovens sales: $1.4
billion
Key Personnel
Thomas Powell, president of DuPont Protection Technologies; Roger
Siemionko, vice president and
global technology leader, DuPont
Protection Technologies; Mindy Telliard, global product
manager,
Sontara, DuPont Protection Technologies; Michael Sanders, global
business manager,
Energy Storage Solutions, DuPont Protection
Technologies.
Plants
Richmond, VA (Tyvek, HMT), USA. Old Hickory,TN, USA (spun-lace,
Suprel, Softesse), Luxembourg
(Tyvek, Typar), Asturias, Spain (spunlacc)
Shenzhen, China (Tyvek and spunlace converting facility),
Seoul, Brazil
joint venture (spunlace), Chesterfield County, VA, USA (Energain)
ISO Status
All plants are ISO 9002 certified, Luxembourg facility is also 9001
certified
Processes
Flashspun (Tyvek), spunbond (Typar), spunlace, Energain
Brand Names
Tyvek, Tychem, Sontara, Suprel, Softesse, Typar
Major Markets
Construction, healthcare, protective apparel, industrial
filtration, absorbents, home furnishings,
envelopes, geotextiles,
graphics, packaging, footwear, automotive, batten,' separators
Recover continued in 2010 for DuPont as many of its core businesses
came back from the global
recession. While the Wilmington, DE-based
maker of Tyvek and Sontara nonwovens refuses to break
out its nonwovens
sales globally industry estimates put the figure in excess of $1.4
billion, making
it the world's second largest maker of nonwovens.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Size, however, is not important to DuPont. The technology-focused
company aims for innovation and
its steady stream of new product
introductions and line extensions has reflected this in recent
years.
Among its most notable introductions are Energain battery separators,
metallized Tyvek
flashspun nonwovens and Nomex KD filtration media.
"Our strategy is not to have the most revenue--that would be
nice--but we really look for where our
technology brings value to the
customers," says Thomas Powell, president of DuPont
Protection
Technologies."We are heavily focused on innovation for our means to
grow."
DuPont Protection Technologies combines the company's
nonwovens businesses with its sister
units, including Kevlar and Nomex
aramid technologies. Created in late 2009, this new organization
groups
together technologies and products that protect lives, the environment
and critical
processes worldwide, Powell explains. By grouping together
the nonwovens technologies with
aramid technologies, DuPont hopes to
capitalize on synergies already existing between the
businesses while
also streamlining costs, support and other infrastructure items. The
marriage was
part of a larger, company-wide streamlining that brought
the number of DuPont business units from
25 to 14 and allows the company
to more easily respond to customer trends.
"We definitely see a lot of leverage. We are focused on three
value propositions, protecting people,
protecting the environment and
protecting critical processes. While doing this, we support
megatrends,
like reducing energy consumption and growing in emerging
economies,"Powell says.
While no major product introductions have been born out of the new
group, yet, DuPont's Nomex
KD, a filtration medium that combines
Nomex and Kevlar fibers in a unique nonwovens filter
material, is an
example of how DuPont's technologies can work together to target
new market
opportunities. Nomex KD is well suited for high-temperature
applications such as asphalt
production and cement clinker coolers.
Moving on to other areas of new products development, battery
separators is an area strong on
DuPont's radar. Last year, the
company built a pilot line in Chesterfield County, VA, USA to
make
Energain battery' separator materials. Once referred to as Hybrid
Membrane Technology'
(HMT), Energain is based on DuPont's
nanofiber technology. DuPont purchased a form of this
technology four
years ago from a Korean company and had been piloting it in a Korean
facility
under the Hybrid Membrane Technology (HMT) moniker, but changes
in the technology' and
business strategy led to a new brand
Energain. DuPont decided to move the production of Energain
"We are not going to be the massive producer on the spunlace
side. We are looking for areas where
our products and brands add
value,"Powell says.
Business-wide, DuPont is not only looking for markets where it can
add value but also at new
regions. While most of its nonwovens-related
assets are based in North America and Europe, that
does not mean that
Asian growth isn't a high priority. In fact, of all of the regions,
Asia is the most
important, according to Powell."It's a high
priority because of the factors around population and
increasing
purchasing power. Right now, DuPont has limited assets in Asia but we
don't believe
when you are an innovation-driven business you need
to have assets all over the world. We have
very competitive, large scale
assets and we can efficiently move material around the world."
3. Ahlstrom
Helsinki, Finland
www.ahlstrom.com
2010 nonwovens sales: $1.35 billion
Key Personnel
Jan Lang, president & CEO; Risto Anttonen, deputy of the
president & CEO; Laura Raitio, executive
vice president, Building
and Energy; jean-Marie Becker, executive vice president, Home
and
Personal; William Casey, executive vice president, Food and Medical;
Tommi Bjomman,
executive vice president, Filtration; Patrick Jeambar,
executive vice president, Label and
Processing; Paula Aarnio, executive
vice president, human resources & sustainability; Claudio
Ermondi,
executive vice president, product & technology development; Seppo
Parvi, chief financial
officer; Rami Raulas, executive vice president,
sales & marketing
Processes
Needlepunch, resin bonded, spunlaced, nanofiber,
spun-melt/spunbond, wetlaid, wetlaid/Hydraspun,
wetlaid/spunlace
composite, composite nonwovens, wetlaid/Trinitex, SPC, Caustic
Entanglement,
film based composites, process enhancements.
Plants
Alicante, Spain, Barcelona, Spain, Bethunc, SC, USA, Binzhou,
China, Bishopville, SC, USA,
Bousbecque, France, Brignoud, France,
Chirnside, UK, Cressa, Italy, Green Bay, WI, USA, Hyun
Poong, South
Korea, Jacarei, Brazil, Karhula, Finland, Kauttua, Finland, Pont Eveque,
France,
Louveira, Brazil, Madisonville, KY, USA, Malmedy, Belgium,
Mikkeli, Finland, Mozzate, Italy, Mt
Holly Springs, PA, USA, Mundra,
India, Osnabruck, Germany, Paulinia, Brazil, Pont-Audemer,
France, Saint
Severin, France, Sas-soferrato, Italy, Stalldalen, Sweden, Stenay,
France,Tampere,
Finland, Taylorville, IL,Turin, Italy,Tver, Russia, West
Carrollton, OH, USA, Windsor Locks, CT,
USA
Major Markets
Wipes, filtration, walkover, building, automotive, labels, food
packaging, and medical
Among the recent headlines made by Ahlstrom is the company's
plan to divest its entire wipes
business to Suominen in a deal valued at
[euro]170 million, which will also make Ahlstrom
Suominen's largest
shareholder. In announcing the sale of wipes, an area where Ahlstrom has
put
considerable resources during the last five years, the company said
it part of a plan toward a more
focused business product
portfolio."We have been building our business portfolio based on
offering
high performance materials that allow our customers to
differentiate and create value to their
customers. We will continue to
seek growth and global leadership in all segments in which we
operate.
This transaction allows us to free resources to strengthening and
further developing our
current businesses, especially in the
fast-growing markets in Asia,"said president and CEO Jan Lang
in
August.
Ahlstrom's wipes business operates as its Home and Personal
business area. With plants in
Wisconsin, Spain, Italy and Brazil, this
business generated sales of about [euro]291 million and
profits of
[euro]6.1 million last year.
Looking back on 2010, the company reported an 18% increase in total
sales, led by 47% growth in
Asia.
During the past five years, Ahlstrom has invested heavily across a
number of nonwovens platforms
and geographical regions, catapulting it
to one of the top of nonwovens producers in the world. For
all intents
and purposes, the company operates through five divisions, Filtration,
Home and
Personal (mainly wipes), Building and Energy, Food and Medical
and Label and Processing. Nonwovens comprise all or a part of all but
the Label and Processing division, accounting for about 55%
of the
company's total [euro]1.82 billion in global sales last year,
according to estimates. From an
end use standpoint, key markets continue
to be consumer wipes, air and liquid filtration, wall
coverings,
construction, teabags, food packaging, medical, automotives and wind
energy.
These many market areas have benefited from an ambitious growth
strategy--including investments
and acquisitions--during the past five
to 10 years, that has tapered off more recently as Ahlstrom
seeks to
benefit from these investments.
"Following our IPO in 2006, Ahlstrom invested about [euro]500
million, of which about half was
spent on acquisitions, into growth
initiatives,"says Liisa Nyyssonen, vice president of
corporate
communications. "We are now working on getting the benefit from
those investments and
think that our base is very strong to achieve this
based on our redefined strategy'."
However, investment in Asia continues to be a top priority. In
recent months, Ahlstrom has added to
its capabilities for filtration and
wall coverings there, beefing up a business that already
includes
facilities in India and Korea. This investment streak started in
September 2010 when
Ahlstrom bought Shandong Puri Filter & Paper
Products Ltd. in China from the Purico Group. The
C22.5 million price
included a plant in Binzhou in the province of Shandong in northeastern
China.
In June, Ahlstrom added to this site by investing [euro]30 million
in a new nonwoven wallcovering
substrates production line at its Binzhou
plant in China, where the company is already
manufacturing filtration
materials. Deliveries from the new line are expected to start early
2013.
According to Lang, the investment plays a significant role in the
company's growth strategy in Asia.
"Ahlstrom has a strong
presence in Europe and Americas, and we continue to grow our presence
in
Asia as well. China is expected to be the world's largest market
for wallcoveringss in a few years
time, offering a significant growth
potential in the coming years."
"We will use Ahlstrom's extensive know how and experience
in walkover manufacturing in
responding to the market needs in China. We
are extremely pleased that we will have the
opportunity to grow together
with and serve our customers from a local production plant in
China,"
says Laura Raitio, executive vice president, Building and
Energy, Ahlstrom.
In addition to Binzhou, Ahlstrom has two manufacturing sites in
Asia; Hyun Poong in South Korea
and Mundra in India. The company sold a
site located in Wuxi, China, along with three lines located
in Bethune,
SC, USA, to Andrew Industries in December as part of a plan to exit the
dust filtration
business.
"After a careful strategic review of our product portfolio, it
was determined that dust filtration did
not fit our product
portfolio," says Tommi Bjornman, F.VP, Filtration.
The assets, which were sold for [euro]5.3 million, make dust
filtration materials used in applications
such as bag house filtration
for pollution control.
Despite this divestment, filtration continues to serve as a
straight growth engine for Ahlstrom,
representing 18% growth for the
company. As it continues to move beyond its traditional
engine
filtration business into new areas such as HVAC, high efficiency and
liquid filtration areas,
Ahlstrom still considers filtration part of its
value-add business cluster. One area receiving
considerable attention
has been in liquid filtration with Disruptor and Disruptor PAC,
high
performance water filtration media that rivals UF and A IF membrane
filters in terms of
retention and efficiency. They can be used to reduce
or remove a wide range of contaminants from
water including viruses and
bacterial, chlorine, iodine, iron, lead, tin, copper and
membrane,
biofouling contaminants. Applications include beverage manufacturing,
pharmaceutical
makeup water, point of use and point of entry filters.
Meanwhile, in transportation filtration, Ahlstrom is adding
capacity in Louveira, Brazil and
Tampere, Finland, which will be
complete in 2012 and late 2011, respectively.
"We have been pleased to grow with our key customers and as a
commitment to the filtration
business we are expanding the operation.
This is another important step in our global growth
roadmap where we
have strengthened our global platform in Europe, Asia and now in
South
America. We will continue to keep our focus on our markets in all four
geographies--enabling
Ahlstrom to be a global supplier in the filtration
market with a full offering of filter media,"says Gary
Blevins,
vice president, Transportation Filtration.
Other recent investments include the Binzhou, China plant and a
[euro]17.5 million investment to
expand capacity in Turin, Italy.
In addition to filtration, Ahlstrom's wipes business--which is
set to become a part of Suominen-received considerable investment
during the last five years with acquisitions in North America and
Europe
as well as investment in Brazil. In 2010, the business grew 9.7% and has
continued to be an
important contributor to overall growth, according to
marketing manager Alistair Brown.
Recent efforts within wipes have focused on modernizing and
streamlining its European wipes
business, closing plants in Carbonate
and upgrading operations in Mozzate and Cressa as well as
developing
innovative solutions to move the wipes business for ward. One key trend
within wipes is
movement toward a more sustainable
environment."Ahlstrom's diverse range of green wiping
fabrics
helps to support a more sustainable environment," Nyyssonen
says."No other manufacturer
offers so many easy and innovative ways
to produce environmentally friendly wipes for baby
homecare, personal
care and industrial applications. Our sustainable offerings
include
biodegradable, dispersible or reusable wiping fabrics integrated with
natural or recycled
materials."
A reported 82% of Ahlstrom's fibers come from renewable
resources. Efforts in this arena include a
recent Chirnside, Scotland,
investment that brings a sustainable choice to the growing
infusion
market using spunmelt technology. BioWeb is a lightweight nonwoven web,
which features
unique functional and environmental characteristics. This
unique product provides an
environmentally friendly, sustainable and
affordable solution for high end and specialty tea packers,
designed for
conversion on ultrasonic or heatseal tea-packing machines, according to
Beth
Schiviey, communications officer, Food and Medical.
This investment--and others like it--are part of a company-wide
effort toward more sustainable
products and practices, Nyyssonen
continues."For Ahlstrom, sustainability means a balance
between
economic, social and environmental responsibility,"she
says."Our code of business conduct
forms the basis of our corporate
responsibility. This means that Ahlstrom supports sustain ability
from
raw material sourcing to end use applications."
In addition to improving the environmental profile of its products,
Ahlstrom has been mindful of the
impact its processes have on the Earth.
The company's environmental impact is continually reduced
in
manufacturing with carbon footprint reductions a regular practice.
Additionally, the company
achieved zero waste landfills in two of its
plants and a significant reduction in waste across all of its
facilities
between 2009 and 2010.
Moving back to its business units, in medical, Ahlstrom recently
invested in Mundra, India. India
helps support the businesses strategy;
strengthening Ahlstrom's leading global position and
increasing
presence in Asia. The Mundra facility delivers a wide range of nonwovens
for application
in single use medical substrates used inside and outside
of the operating room. The plant uses the
start-of-the-art technology to
produce a wide range of SMS protective fabrics for the medical
market.
Also in Asia, Ahlstrom has established a joint venture in China for
crepe papers used in medical
papers and masking tape base papers.
Meanwhile, Ahlstrom's Building and Energy Business Area serves
customers mainly in the building
(flooring, roofing, wallcovering and
various other building applications), transportation, marine
and
windmill industries.
This segment's extensive product range includes
Ahlstrom's Easylife walkover materials, which play
a leading role,
offering textile like touch, a wide range of surface effects and
superior strippability.
According to executives, business demand is increasing rapidly in
wallcovering, driven by Chinese
growth and European recovery, and this
should receive an additional boost from the Chinese
investment. Demand
is also increasing for flooring products and there is improved demand in
the
wind and marine sector in Europe.
Moving forward, Ahlstrom will continue to monitor demand across all
of its businesses around the
world, Nyyssonen explains.
"We will strive for new business opportunities and grow with
our customers, especially in Asia. As
previously stated, significant
investments, acquisitions have been done in the last couple of years
in
nonwovens and we now want to enjoy the leading position gained by this
move. We are customer
focused and intent on safeguarding our
profitability through active pricing and continuous cost
efficiency,
"she says.
4. Kimberly-Clark Corporation
Dallas, TX, USA
www.kimberly-clark.com
2010 Nonwovens Sales: $1.2 billion
Partnership Products and K-C
Professional Headquarters
Roswell, GA
Key Personnel
Thomas Falk, chairman and CEO; Jan Spencer, president, K-C
Professional & Other; Richard Thome,
vice president, K-C
Professional North America; Bob Stargel, vice president, Global
Nonwovens
Sector, Stephanie Rossignol, director, K-C Professional Wipers
and Partnership Products
Plants
Corinth, MS, Balfour Hendersonville, NC, Lexington, NC, La-Grange,
GA, Neenah, WI, Barton-upo-Humber, UK, Jaromer, Czech Republic
ISO Status
Certification achieved in Berkeley, NC, Lexington, NC, LaGrange, GA
and Barton (UK); other
facilities in progress
Processes
Spunbond, meltblown, SMS, BCW, hydroentangled, film lamination,
elastic lamination and Coform
Brand Names
Blockit protective fabric, Cyclean filtration media, Dustop
protective fabric, Evolution 4 protective
fabric, Intrepid filtration
media, Noah protective fabric and Powerloft filtration media
Major Markets
Filtration, acoustics, hygiene, industrial, medical, packaging,
protective, sorbents, textile linings
and wet wipes
Rumors swirl around Kimberly-Clark and its status as one of the
world's largest producers--and
users--of nonwoven fabrics.
Traditionally, the forward-integrated company has supplied much of
the
nonwovens to its absorbent hygiene business with products including
Huggies diapers, Pull-Ups
training pants, Kotex feminine hygiene items
and Depend adult incontinence products as well as a
number of medical,
personal protection and professional items. However, the company has
made no
secret that it is constantly looking at new technologies both
within and outside of its operations,
sourcing nonwovens both externally
and internally, depending on what is right for the product at
hand.
While K-C and its partners have remained mum on the subject, there
is much speculation that K-C's
movement away from nonwovens
production could be a driving force behind the rapid rate of
spunbond
and spunmelt investment around the world. If K-C decides to abandon, or
even curtail, its
internal nonwovens production, that would certainly
help its fellow nonwovens makers move the
hundreds of thousands of tons
of new capacity set to come onstream globally in the next couple
of
years.
All K-C executives will say on the subject is that the core of
K-C's growth strategy is strengthening
its brands and targeting
growth in areas where it sees a clear advantage, and this strategy
relies on
innovative nonwoven materials--from internal and external
sources--that provide a competitive
advantage. Developing and sourcing
these materials continues to be a top priority for the
company.
In 2010, total sales at the company reached $197.3 billion, a 3%
increase, on a combination of
higher selling prices and organic growth.
While the company won't break out its nonwovens sales,
industry
estimates put the figure around $1.3 billion, depending on the product
mixes and raw
material pricing. In addition to supplying its internal
business, K-C targets a number of markets
externally including
filtration, acoustics, sorbents and specialty applications.
Regardless of its plans for its nonwovens sourcing, the company
continues to invest substantially in
its business. In July, its leg down
under, Kimberly-Clark Australia said it would invest $65 million in
new
capacity and environmental improvements. Included in the investment is
$28 million to start
production of disposable pants at its Ingleburn,
Australia plant, $6.5 million to expand capabilities
and reduce carbon
emissions in Albury, Australia and $30 million for a combined heat and
power
generation project greatly increasing energy efficiencies and
significantly reducing greenhouse
emissions for the Millicent mill
located in South Australia, where the company makes Kleenex
tissue
products.
Making the announcement, managing director Glen Watts
says,"These investments demonstrate
Kimberly-Clark's
commitment to maintaining an effective Australian manufacturing
presence. We
continue to look to the Australian government to play its
part to maintain an effective economic
environment for Australian
manufacturing."
In keeping with the company's recognized sustainability
leadership, around half of the $65 million
investment addresses energy
costs and greenhouse gas emission reduction from its manufacturing.
The
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions will be on the order of 90,000
tons per year by 2013
when the investments are completed. "This
reduction is equivalent to removing 32,000 small cars
from the road or
alternatively to planting 10,000 hectare of trees per year,"
explains Watts.
Last year, it was Russia on the company's radar when it opened
its first manufacturing site there.
The plant, located near Moscow, has
two lines dedicated to Huggies diaper production, which are
helping the
company expand on its already strong marketshare in the region.
"K-C has made significant investments to establish our brands
and build our organization in Russia
since 1996. K-C has increased sales
10 times in 10 years in the region. The decision to invest into
the
development of local manufacturing became an important part of our
strategy to support our
children who suffer from
bedwetting (clinically known as"nighttime enuresis"), to help
enable an
easy night's sleep.The new marketing program continues to
deliver on this mission but will also
focus on reaching moms of kids
four and up and arming them with better bedtime solutions.
In the feminine hygiene segments, K-C has been using its Kotex
brand to help moms talk to their
young daughters about their menstrual
cycles. Because many young girls have no idea what's
happening when
they get their first period, and four out of five moms feel only
somewhat or not at
all prepared to talk to their daughter about her
changing body. The Kotex brand is providing the
tools to empower moms to
proactively talk to their daughters and guide them through
this
important "first," including a new line of products designed
specifically for tweens - U by Kotex
Tween.
U by Kotex Tween pads and liners have tween-inspired designs that
come in a glittery package with
a helpful informational booklet on the
inside to help reduce the anxiety for mom and tween during
the
conversation. The brand has also partnered with Lissa Rankin,
gynecologist, mother, author,
life coach and founder of online community
Owning Pink, who is passionate about encouraging open
communication
among moms and their daughters.
K-C's U By Kotex brand, K-C's new take on a tired
category'. The youth-inspired feminine hygiene
brand was launched
in 2010 featuring bold new packaging and feminine product design and K-C
is
calling it a first step in redefining the category and encouraging
women to change the conversation
surrounding feminine care from one of
shame and embarrassment to one of open, honest dialogue.
In fact, U by Kotex this spring gave young women the chance to
express themselves through an
online design contest with designer
Patricia Field. Women were invited to enter a pad, accessory
or
inspiration board for the chance to work with Field to design a new U by
Kotex product and
attend a runway show at Fashion Week in New York
City'.
In August, K-C extended the U by Kotex line with a limited edition
designer series. Four distinct new
products are designed to capture
young women's personal style with trend forward colors
and
patterns, keeping her interested by creating surprise, delight and
variety on shelf.
Branding agency CBX, provided inspiration, trends, and insights
that informed the team within K-C
and all its agency partners involved
with product and packaging innovation. The result was a
seamless
integration of product development and design-thinking based on critical
consumer
insights. "We created a limited edition, designer series
package to allow for customized interaction
with the brand. Our
consumers can now choose products that reflect their own personal
style,"says
Kristi Bryant, design manager.
The U by Kotex* Designer Series features high-contrast colors and
vibrant patterns enveloping each
package, and reflect individual fashion
trends - poptimistic, boho, and freestyle for the three pad
designs and
punk glam for the tampons. The U by Kotex* black logo stands out against
the
saturated colors and is accompanied by a black belly band that wraps
around the package, creating
a ribbon, gift-like effect. Visuals on all
the panels reveal what's inside: pads and product wrappers
as
colorful and coordinated as the packages.
"Overall, the designs allow for self-expression and style.
When she realizes that these products fit
seamlessly into her purse,
along with her other fashion accessories, it is an added bonus of
surprise
and delight,"says Bryant.
5. Polymer Group Inc
options that
will advance attributes in barrier and pore size."We also are
making continued
advancements in combining technologies such as Spinlace
and filament extrusions. PGI also is
focusing on advancement in
manufacturing with bio-polymers," Bridges says.
Spinlace is PGI's continuous filament wipes-producing
technology launched in April 2007 to the
hard surface cleaning market.
When releasing the new technology, PGI said it bridged the gap
between
value and performance in wipes by eliminating the carded manufacturing
steps.
"Wipes continues to be a core market for PGI and Spinlace has
gained increased traction in the
marketplace since we introduced this
new technology platform in 2007,"Bridges says."We continue
to
focus on technologies where we can deliver improved strength, softness
and barrier that
customers desire."
Other goals at PGI center around sustainability and several key
milestones were reached this year.
In April, EDANA granted PGI two
awards at the INDEX '11 show in Geneva, Switzerland. One of
these
awards was for PGI's TakeCover Insect Repellant blanket in the
finished product category.
This humanitarian aid blanket protects
against malaria by repelling mosquitoes and other insects.
The second
award was given in the Sustainable Process or Management category for
PGI's
Sustainability Process.
Additionally in May, PGI was ranked the number one most sustainable
company in North Carolina
and second in the Southeastern US by the
Southeastern Corporate Sustainability Rankings
organization. The ranking
is based on environmental, social and governance performances using
175
metrics.
"Sustainability is very much part of our culture and doing
business at PGI," Bridges says. "We are a
leader in
sustainability for both the nonwovens industry and among leading global
manufacturers.
Our efforts have been recognized in the marketplace with
several recent awards."
These efforts around sustainability wall be one of several tenets
that guide PGI as it continues with
its long-term growth strategy for
high-growth developing regions and ensuring investments in the
US,
Suzhou, Brazil and, ultimately, Southern China.
"To remain a leader and win, PGI will deliver the right
products with the right customers/'Bridges
concludes."We
believe that anyone with money can invest in additional capacities, but
this does not
make them a sustainable leader for the future market
environments."
6. Fiberweb
London, UK
www.fiberweb.com
2010 nonwovens sales: $850 million
Key Personnel
Daniel Dayan, CEO; Dan Abrams, CFO; Carsten Heldmann, president
consumer fabrics, John June,
president Americas industrial division;
John Warner, managing director Geosynthetics division;
Hans Jorg
Oberberg, president European industrial division
Plants
Green Bay WI, USA; Old Hickory, TN, USA; Simpsonville, SC, USA;
Tianjin, China; Biesheim,
France; Aschersleben, Germany; Berlin,
Germany; Trezzano Rosa, Italy; Pontypool, UK; Norrkoping, Sweden;
Peine, Germany; Terno d'Tsola, Italy; Ma Id on, UK, Aberdare UK
Processes
Chemical bonded, thermal bonded, meltblown, bicomponent spunbond,
airlaid, air through bonded,
spunbond, composites, extrusion
Major Markets
Construction and ground cover, consumer care, filtration, baby and
adult diapers, hygiene, medical
and protective markets, industrial
specialties, femcare
A good year was had by London, UK-based Fiberweb. The company was
able to grow sales 10% on
improved volumes and higher raw material
prices and at the same time improve its profits while
also significantly
investing in several areas of its business.
According to CEO Daniel Dayan, in 2010, Fiberweb achieved sales of
about $750 million plus an
additional $100 million generated through its
half share in the joint venture partnership
FitesaFiberweb. In general,
volumes were good across all of its markets with the exception of the
US
construction market, which he describes as"miserable."
One of Fiberweb's main focuses has been on growing
Fite-saFiberweb, its joint venture company
with Brazil's Pctropar,
which is targeting hygiene spunbond markets in the Americas. The
venture
was created in 2009 combining existing sites in Mexico and Washougal,
WA, USA, owned
by Fiberweb, and Gravatai, Brazil, where Petropar's
Fitesa was based. In 2010, FitesaFiberweb
opened its first greenfield
site in Simpsonville, SC--its headquarters--in early 2011 to supply
the
North American market, which was reportedly relying heavily on imports.
And, already the venture has announced plans for a second line in
Simpsonville as part of a two line
investment announced in November
2010. In addition to Simpsonville, the venture will add a line in
Lima,
Peru to help target the western side of South America. The Peru line is
scheduled to come
onstream in early 2012 while the timing of the second
North American line has not been disclosed.
The two lines will add
35,000 tons to bring the company's total spunmelt output to 140,000
tons.
"We are very focused on growing the joint venture," Dayan
says."We have traded very well in
hygiene spunbond in the Americas.
Simpsonville and Lima will strengthen our position."
The next region on Fiberweb's radar is Asia. Last year, the
company announced it was forming a
partnership with Japan's JNC
(formerly Chisso Corporation) to establish a nonwovens
operation
targeting hygiene applications in China. While these discussions
continue, Dayan says it
is possible that the deal could be between
FitesaFiberweb rather than Fiberweb as a standalone
company.
The spunmelt market's unprecedented expansion, particularly in
developing markets is not
impacting the venture's expansion plans.
In fact, Dayan says the company remains confident in the
strength of
spunmelt in the global hygiene market over the medium and longer terms,
despite the
massive amounts of capacity' set to enter the market in
the next couple of years.
"There is a lot of hygiene spunbond coming onstream,
particularly in North and South America and
Asia,"Dayan
says."I think the US is set to be pretty self sufficient in
polypropylene spunbond
nonwovens for the next couple of years as new
projects come onstream. This will mean a reduction
of exports out of
South America but this region itself continues to grow strongly so we
are
confident that--maybe with the exception of a year or so--demand
will continue to grow."
In addition to the FitesaFiberweb assets, Fiberweb operates modern
lines in Italy and Sweden
which primarily supply the Eu -ropean markets.
While the company has no disclosed plans to
expand its role in this
market, business there is benefiting from improved efficiencies in
the
recycling operations as well as an efficient carding line being built in
Northern Italy to improve
the competitiveness of hygiene products. While
investment in hygiene has been strong, it is actually
industrial
applications that Fiberweb deems more attractive due to higher margins
and higher
returns on capital.The downside, however, is it's harder
to grow rapidly unless you do so through
acquisition, Dayan says.
One industrial area where acquisition has been a focus has been
geosynthetics. In May 2011, the
company bought Tubex, a producer of tree
shelters designed to improve the survival and growth
rates of saplings
and vines. The company is considered complementary to Fiberweb's
Acorn tree
shelter business which is based in Norfolk,
UK."Acquiring a leading niche market position in a
business
closely-related to an existing Fiberweb business is highly attractive
and we will apply the
scale and geographic reach of Fiberweb to
accelerate Tubex's growth in international markets while
realizing
efficiencies in production and distribution, "Dayan explains.
Meanwhile, in December 2010, Fiberweb paid [pounds sterling]9.4
million to buy out Essex-based
geosynthetics and accessor manufacturer
Boddingtons International, the only UK producer of
geosynthetic nets as
well as a wide range of accessories and laminates for use in civil
engineering
projects and for temporary ground protection. Its business
is highly complementary to Fiberweb's
Wales-based Tcrram
geosynthetics business. There is a long-standing and growing
supply
relationship between the two businesses, accounting for around 10% of
Boddingtons' sales.
There are also links with Fiberweb's Old
Hickory, TN-based Typar construction fabrics business,
according to the
company.
Boddingtons is based in Maldon, Essex with small manufacturing
operations in Lod-don, Norfolk
and Melbourne, Australia and has sales
offices in the US and Germany with a total of 92
employees.
Boddington's sales for the year ended June 30 were [pounds
sterling]14 million with
profit before interest and tax of [pounds
sterling]1 million.
Boddingtons, Tubex and Fiberweb's existing geotextile business
will form a new business unit
within the industrial division, Fiberweb
Geosynthetics. In addition to the two acquisitions, Fiberweb
is
investing in a specialty needlepunch geotextile production line in the
UK. Other measures will
include the closure of Terrain's Pontypool
site as well as Boddingtons' Loddon. Operations from
these two
sites will be integrated intoTubex's Aberdare site, which will be
expanded to handle some
of the overflow.
"Geosynthetics comprises textiles, nonwovens, nettings,
composites, drainage laminates and tree
shelters," Dayan says.
"It's a whole range of specialist fabrics or products that go
into construction.
We are bullish about it. We have strong brands and we
have a strong market position."
Dayan speculates that the next investment step will be the addition
of some specialty products-probably tree shelters--in the US
Beyond geosynthetics, Fiberwerb has a number of new products in
filtration and technical
nonwovens. These businesses are set to benefit
from a new research and development center,
scheduled to open in Old
Hickory, TN by the end of the year, as well as a recent line upgrade
in
Berlin, Germany dedicated to industrial applications. "We have seen
strong volumes in Europe
for all sorts of applications--roofmg,
agrotextiles, filtration, etc.,"Dayan says.
Meanwhile, in Asia, Fiberweb continues to operate a two-line
airlaid facility inTianjin, China, which
is largely dependent on the
success of a major femcare customer."We keep a range of options
open.
I would certainly like to have a stronger footprint there--even a
plant--and we are seeking the right
opportunities," Dayan says.
In fact, it's the right opportunities that Fiberweb will
depend on for broad-based growth throughout
all of its
businesses."Rel-evant innovation with the ability to make the right
acquisitions and
investments at the right time to accelerate growth is
what will move us forward,"Dayan concludes.
7. Johns Manville
Denver, CO, USA
www.jm.com
2010 nonwovens sales: $670 million
Key Personnel
Bob Wamboldt, vice president and general manager, Engineered
Products North America (EPNA),
Enno Henze, vice president and general
manager Engineered Products Europe/Asia (EPEA); Ken
Forden, director of
sales and marketing EPNA; Stefan Mohr, commercial leader nonwovens
(EPEA);
Martin Kleinebrecht, marketing leader nonwovens (EPEA)
Plants
Waterville, OH; Defiance, Of 1; Richland, MS, Spartanburg, SC,
Etowah,TN; Bobingen, Berlin,
Wertheim, Karlstein and Steinach, Germany;
Shanghai and Louyang, China; Trnava, Slovakia
Brand Names
US-Brands: Dura-Glass, DuraBase, Delta-Aire, DynaWick, Dy-naWcb,
DynaTech, Micro-Aire,
MicroLith
EU Nonwoven brands: microlith, ForTex, Illuma,
StabilStrand,eco-Mat, DuraGlass, DuraSpun,
SpunFil, CombiFil, ComforTex,
Sta-bleGrip; UniTex, MicroAire
EU Fibers brands: ThermoFlow, DuraCore, KY-Tex
As it adapts to its new regional structure, roll goods producer and
roofing and construction
specialist Johns Manville has defended itself
against slowdowns in many of its core markets by
keeping costs under
control. The Denver, CO-based company, which is also a part of
Berkshire
Hathaway Group, is organized into four regional segments--Insulations
Systems, Roofing
Systems and Engineered Products North America (EPNA)
and Engineered Products Europe/Asia
(EPEA), a restructuring that allows
the company to increase its decisionmaking speed.
Among the markets JM is focusing on are laminate flooring, air
filtration, wall coverings and
landscaping in addition to its more
traditional areas including residential and commercial
construction and
geotextiles.
The company currently makes glass mat nonwovens in Waterville, OH
and Etowah, TN. In Ohio, a
line upgrade has increased capacity and
efficiency of the operation while in Tennessee the facility is
described
as extremely cost-efficient, running 24 hours per day/seven days a week.
Additionally, in July, JM broke ground on a new commercial roofing
single ply membrane
manufacturing facility in Milan, OH, where it will
make EPDM roofing products starting in the
second quarter of next year.
The facility will be the company's third in Ohio."This is the
right time
to invest in enhancing our product portfolio and JM now has
one of the broadest offerings of
commercial products in the
industry," says CEO Todd Raba.
JM has invested more than $125 million in its commercial roofing
business during the last five
years.
EPDM is a thermoset synthetic rubber single ply roofing membrane
known for its durability, ease of
installation and superior weathering
characteristics. Approximately 80% of the FPDM market is
located in the
Midwest and Northeast. JM strategically selected a location close to the
majority of
its customers to ensure the most efficient delivery.The new
facility, a former rubber manufacturing
facility, began renovations in
May 2011, with approximately 100 million square feet of
manufacturing
capacity and production scheduled for mid-2012.
Meanwhile, in Europe, JM makes glass fiber nonwovens in Karlstein,
Steinach and Wertheim,
Germany as well as polyester spunbond in Berlin
and Bobingen, Germany. A recent highlight for the
German operation is a
Top 100 seal by the Vienna University of Economics and
Business
Administration. For the second year in a row, JM was ranked among the
top 100 mostinnovative mid-sized companies in Germany.
JM also operates two plants in China--one in Shanghai and the other
in Louyang--where it continues
to service roofing specialty and
geotextiles markets in Asia and the Middle East from state-of-te-art
spunbond lines.
In terms of product development, JM is going after the laminate
flooring panel market with the use
of StabilStrand, an innovative glass
fiber nonwoven impregnated with a semi-cured resin system.
Especially in
the case of floor coverings, which are subjected to daily stress over
many years,
impact resistance and impact strength play an important
role. StabilStrand EW 160 C/A, used as
underlay reinforcements of
laminate flooring panels manufactured in DPL-process, increases
the
impact strength and the edge stability of HDF panels. StabilStrand
enables users to meet the
new performance requirements for the flooring
class 34.
Meanwhile, JM is entering an entirely different field of
application that can be entered with
CombiFil GS, which is a brand-new
polyester spunbond air filtration media with improved
filtration
efficiency and lower pressure drop leading to expanded filter lifetime
and lower energy
consumption.This helps customers to save costs and
protect the environment by using fewer
resources, according to
executives.
Another new product, EasyShine, a nonwoven glass fiber product, has
recently been incorporated
into JM's already strong portfolio of
innovative and decorative wall covering products for both
commercial and
residential markets. EasyShine is pre-coated to provide both a time and
cost-
efficient alternative. Paint consumption is considerably lower
compared to other similar products.
The pre-coating also acts as a
stabilizing factor which enables faster and more accurate edge-t-edge
installation.
Within the landscape market, JM has introduced DuraSpun Type 014,
which has been specially
designed to meet the market demand as a
protective layer to stabilize sloped landscapes of all
kinds. The
Polyester Nonwoven DuraSpun Type 014 provides excellent chemical
stability and
outstanding technical values. "The surface treatment
applied to the fabric in combination with the
UV resistance enables JM
customers to offer an outstanding product for downstream
applications,"
explains Martin Kleinebrecht, marketing leader
nonwovens (EPEA).
8. Glatfelter
York, PA, USA
www.glatfelter.com
2010 nonwovens sales: $350 million
Key Personnel Dante Parrini, CEO; Jonathan Bourget, vice president
and general manager
Advanced Airlaid Materials; Lionel Bitton, general
sales manager Advanced Airlaid Materials
Plants
Canada, Germany, France, UK Processes
Airlaid, wetlaid
Airlaid sales continue to drive sales growth for York, PA-based
Glatfelter Group. The maker of
specialty paper and wetlaid nonwovens
purchased airlaid maker Concert Industries--and its plants
in Canada and
Germany--in February 2010 for a reported $235 million. This division now
operates
as Glatfelter Advanced Airlaid.
Already airlaid sales, which were estimated at approximately $200
million during the purchase, are
on the rise. During the second quarter
of 2011 ended June 30, sales increased 24.7% to nearly $65
million
thanks to a combination of higher selling prices, increased volumes and
improved currency
translations.
Also benefitting Glatfelter's airlaid business is a new,
state-of-the-art airlaid line in Falkenhagen,
Germany. Representing a
$70 million investment, Concert began ramping up the new line,
that
facility's third, in late 2009, and Glatfelter said the potential
this new line had on the business
was one of the contributing factors
that led to its decision to buy Concert.The line added 18,000
tons of
capacity to bring the global airlaid capacity, which also contains a
two-line operation in
Gatineau, Quebec, Canada, to 84,000 tons.
The core business for this output is feminine hygiene products but
other areas of interest include
adult incontinence, food pads, tabletop
items and wipes. Much of this output is already contracted
through 2013
and some 80% of current revenue is attached to raw material price
pass-throughs,
which allows the company to raise and lower prices
depending on its supplier base.
By adding the strength of Concert's airlaid business to
Glatfelter's existing knowledge in specialty
papers and other
technologies, the company is hoping to capitalize on synergies across
all of its
business units, which in addition to advanced airlaid include
composite fibers and specialty papers.
Concert's airlaid business is only the latest in a string of
investments by Glatfelter.The company has
spent the last decade working
to build its business by expanding into new areas largely
through
acquisitions rather than Greenfield investments, which present the
challenge of
introducing incremental capacity into the market. Through
acquisition, Glatfelter has not only
bought existing capacity but also
gained intellectual property and know-how.
In fact, the Concert acquisition was Glatfelter's first since
1998 and it is consistent with its strategy
to build on areas where it
is al ready a leader. Airlaid nonwovens is helping Glatfelter expand
more
into engineered fiber-based materials. Airlaid was a good adjacent
technology' to existing
businesses, particularly wetlaid nonwovens,
which Glatfelter makes in Europe.
Beyond the acquired business, Glatfelter operates a diverse
specialty papers business that includes,
among other things, a sizeable
wetlaid nonwovens business in Germany, France and the UK.
Core
applications for this business, which was valued between $100-150
million last year include
tabletop applications and surgical masks.
9. Companhia Providencia
Parana, Brazil www.providencia.com.br
2010 nonwovens sales: $326 million
Key Personnel
Herminio Freitas, president and CEO; Eduardo Feldmann, CFO;
Alexandre Domequc commercial
director; Romeo Bregant, engineering and
technology director; Fabio Kryzanovski, operational
director
Plants
Sao Jose dos Pinhais-Parana, Brazil, and Pouso Alegre-Minas Gerais,
Brazil, Statesville, NC, USA
Processes
Spunbonded, SMS, meltblovvn, laminated nonwovens, printed nonwovens
Brand Names
Kami, Protect, Protect Advanced, Protect Ultra, Kami Soft Major
Markets
Medical, agricultural, furniture and bedding, towel and coverlet,
hygiene, filtration, wipes
With new lines going in in the US and Brazil, Companhia Providencia
has reason to be optimistic
about future growth.The Sao Paolo,
Brazil-based company is already-reporting 10% growth in 2010
thanks to
growth throughout the Americas and this figure is set to go even higher
as new
investments take hold in the US and Brazil.
In 2011, the company completed construction on its first line
outside of Brazil, a 20,000- ton- per-
year spunmelt line in Statesville,
NC, which is expected to be fully operational by the end of the
year.
According to executives, this line is casing the strain on its Brazilian
operations which had
been supplying North America. The new line is also
expected to boost North American sales, already
comprising 20% of total
sales, even further.
This probably explains the speed with which Providencia announced
line no. 2 for North America,
another large capacity Re-icofil line,
which is set to come onstream late next year. Eventually,
experts say
this site could hold as many as four spunmelt lines, feeding hygiene
growth in the
Americas. "We have contracts with many clients in the
US," says Herminio Freitas, CEO."We expect
North American
segment sales to continue to grow at around 3%, driven by growth in
adult
diapers."
The new US lines feature bicomponent technology allowing
Providencia to produce nonwovens for
both hygiene and high performance
medical applications.
In addition to the US investment, Providencia has also unveiled
plans to increase its Brazilian
operation, adding an 11th line there by
the end of next year.The new line is expected to help the
company
capitalize on growth in Brazil, which is estimated at about 10% per
years."Baby diapers
are driving this growth because penetration of
diapers in Brazil increased from 20% in 2000 to 48%
in 2010, and it is
expected to increase even more,"Freitas says.
Providencia's latest Brazilian line--its 10th--was added in
April 2008, giving the company the
flexibility to target the medical
market. To further boost its role in medical, the company established
a
new medical fabrics division to help it not only take advantage of the
new line's capabilities but
also capitalize on existing
technologies including cast films, breathable films printing
and
laminating.
While he percentage of Providencia's output going into medical
is currently very small, 2%, this
figure will grow as more lines
featuring medical capabilities come onstream in the US and Brazil.
In terms of regional penetration, Brazil currently accounts for 61%
of Providencia's sales, a figure
that is expected to decrease as
investments in the US come onstream. Ultimately, the percentage
of
capacity produced in Brazil will decrease from 80% to about 65%. Beyond
Brazil, important Latin
American markets include Colombia, Venezuela,
Argentina and Peru. Meanwhile, growth will
continue to be strongest in
Latin America with sales increasing 10% in Brazil and 8% outside
of
Brazil. The US hygiene market, meanwhile continues to grow on the
strength of the adult
incontinence market.
"We are planning to expand in the US and in Brazil, because
these are the biggest consumer
countries for nonwovens and from then on
we can export to all the other countries in the Americas,"
Freitas
says adding that greenfield projects, mainly in Brazil and the US, will
continue to fuel
growth.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
10. Sandler AG.
Schwarzenbach/Saale, Germany
www.sandlcr.de
Hornfeck said line number three is ramping up quite well. "We
are still very happy to see that the
line has been installed on time. It
started on time, it supplied its first order on time. It is a
good
situation."
While wipes continue to be strong, other, more technical areas for
spunlace will be a major focus for
the new line. Because Sandler is
already present in a number of technical markets with other
existing
technologies, transition into new markets that could use spunlace should
be seamless,
Hornfeck says.
At the same time, Sandler will capitalize on growth in the Central
and Eastern European wipes
markets."Wipes is still increasing, more
so in Eastern Europe, for sure because all the big brands
are now going
there and growing the market. It is a good situation for us because of
our location
near the east, "Hornfeck says.
Sandler makes baby and other personal care wipes substrates as well
as products for industrial
cleaning, medical, adult care and household
cleaning. Its second spunlace line was added in 2007.
Meanwhile, Sandler's technical business, which includes
products for a number of markets, will be
the next investment area at
the company but final plans have not been announced. "You always
see
Sandler grow on both sides," Horn feck says.
One exciting market for Sandler recently has been filtration where
it has begun selling products for
liquid applications in addition to its
traditional air filtration products. Specific markets on
the
company's radar include automotive filtration and air
compo-sitioning.
Additionally Sandler has been targeting its polyester products to
the insulation and energy savings
markets. Here, nonwovens can replace
foams or multilayer structures typically used for heat
insulation or
even in automotive fields to save energy. These materials typically need
to be
engineered to withstand extreme temperatures.
Speaking of saving energy, sustainability has been a key goal for
Sandler both in its products and
manufacturing processes. From a product
standpoint, Sandler launched the bio wipe sub-strate "bio
textile
by Sandler" this year, which uses certificated viscose fiber from
Lenzing. "This wipe has a
nice embossed pattern to give the idea of
a biowipe or a biotextile even to the end users to give
them the idea
that the wipe is made from the renewable resource wood and is also
fully
biodegradable," Hornfeck says. Providing the basis for this new
development and furthering
sustainability, Sandler obtained
certification according to the FSC and PEFC standards in 2010.
From a production standpoint, the company has continued with
the'Xess is best to
nature"philosophy, started in 2008.
Efforts here have led to lower basis weights as well as an
increased use
of recycled fibers. Today, 30% of all fibers used by Sandler come from
renewable raw
materials or recycled polyester bottles.
While these efforts are important, there is some question over how
well they translate into sales
success."Customers like it but the
whole industry is worrying about price. The situation of raw
material
prices is making disposables very tough, so everyone is welcome to find
new opportunities
and new situations. If you can put that balance into a
sustainable background, it's not the worst
thing you can do,"
Hornfeck explains.
11. Avgol
Tel Aviv, Israel
www.avgol.com
2010 nonwovens sales: $ 277.5 million
Key Personnel
Shuki Goldwasser, chairman; Achai Bonneh, vice chairman & CTO;
Shlomo Liran, CEO
Plants Tel Aviv Israel; Mocksville, NC, USA; Jingmen City, Hubei
Province, China; Uzlovaya, Russia
ISO Status
ISO 9002 Certified
Processes
Spunbonded, meltblown, hydroentangled spunlaid
Brand Name
Zebra, Avspun, Avsoft
Major Markets
Hygiene, medical, and construction
Continuing its ambitious global expansion plan is Tel Aviv,
Israel-based Avgol Nonwovens. As it
waits for its fourth North American
line to come onstream early next year, the company announced
last month
it would add a third line in China and increase its share in its joint
venture partnership
there.
With five lines in Israel, two existing in China, three up and
running in North America and one in
Russia, all based on Reicofil
technology, Avgol is one of the world's largest suppliers to the
global
hygiene market where it attributes its success to its ability to
make an extremely uniform,
lightweight product.
"We really continue to be focused on hygiene," says North
American sales manager Dennis
Durkin/'That's where we see our
growth is. Looking out over the next five years, that's where
we
are going."Durkin was formerly a part of Cleaver Associates, once a
distributor of Avgol that the
company purchased earlier this year for $7
million, in a streamlining measure.
For Avgol, growth is expected to be global. In Asia, Avgol
currently operates a two (soon to be
three) line venture with a local
partner, Hubei Gold Dragon. Its latest investment, a Reicofil line,
will
bring Avgol's production capacity in China to 40,000 tons. It is
part of an effort, announced last
year, to expand production capacity
through the purchase of two new production lines in the US
and China for
an investment of $80 million. The new lines--the other is being built in
Mocksville,
NC--will raise Avgol's production capacity by 30%, or
30,000 tons of finished product a year, so that
overall company
production of finished products will reach 140,000 tons a year.This
expansion will
allow the company to meet increased demand of company
products.
The cost of the additional Chinese production line will be financed
mainly by investment in equity
from the Chinese partnership, bank
financing, and/or with a shareholders' loan. The
investment
required to set up the new Chinese production line includes an
investment' of between
$10.2 million and $12.4 million by Avgol in
the Chinese partnership equity, as well as a $1.1 million
investment by
the Chinese partner in the partnership equity. The Chinese partnership
will raise the
remaining $27-30 million of the investment through local
bank financing and/or a shareholders'
loan. Following its
investments and its increase in its partnership equity, Avgol's
stake in the
partnership will rise to 83-84% of partnership equity and
the Chinese partner's will hold 16-17%.
"We identified great opportunities in the China/Asia Pacific
markets, which are considered markets
with high growth rates in the
categories of disposable hygiene products and specifically
baby
diapers," says Shlomo Liran, Avgol's CEO."The investment
in a third production line in China
underscores our complete
satisfaction with the investments we have made to date in China
within
the scope of the partnership, and prepares the groundwork for driving
the sales momentum
in response to the already high demands in China.
This strategic decision is the outcome of the
continuing increase in the
volume of purchases and the expression of trust in Avgol and in
its
production lines by our major customers in China, as well as throughout
the world. Increasing
our production capacity will enable us to give
expression to our competitive advantages - global
presence, innovation,
uncompromising quality and superb service to our customers, and to
fortify
Avgol's positioning as a leading and preferred supplier for
the long years ahead."
Beyond the already announced North American and Chinese
investments, Durkin says Avgol
continues to look at other places in the
world to help it improve its global footprint. Possible
locations for
Avgol's next new line include southeast Asia or a second line in
Russia."1 would think
Russia would have to be under heavy
consideration for another line," he says."Ultimately, you
have
to have two lines in a plant. You have to run two lines to make
money."
Also driving Avgol's future investments will be the continued
demand for lower and lower basis
weights, an area that has already
received much buzz in recent years, as well as increased
flexibility.
Five years ago, 13-15 gsm substrates were the gold standard, today 11
gsm is more the
average and weights as low as 8 gsm are already being
made by Avgol whose capabilities also
include bicomponent technology,
hydrotentanglement and different calendering patterns.
Durkin says as the industry moves closer to the lower possible
grammages, attention will be paid to
machine flexibility as the next way
to trim costs.
"What I see is there is going to be a need for more
flexibility7 because the resins have already
showed how crazy things
are. Polypropylene may not be the material of choice in hygiene
because
people won't be able to afford to be held captive to it 10 vears
from now,"he says.
12. Hollingsworth & Vose company
East Walpole, MA
Web: www.hollingsworth-vose.com
2010 nonwovens sales: $275 million
Key Personnel
Val Hollingsworth, president and CEO; David von Loesecke, vice
president international; Mike
Clark, division president, high efficiency
and specialty filtration; Mitch Bregman, division president
energy and
industrial specialties; John Madej, division president, engine and
industrial filtration;
Jochem Hofstetter, vice president and general
manager, Europe, Middle East, Africa; Josh Ayer, vice
president and
general manager, Asia-Pacific; Jeff Sherer, vice president and CFO;
Mario Sandoval,
vice president and chief integrated supply chain
officer; John Fitzgerald, vice president and chief
technology officer;
Ken Fausnacht, vice president, human resources
Plants
Apizaco, Mexico; Corvallis, OR, USA; East Walpole, MA, USA; Easton,
NY, USA; Floyd,VA, USA;
Greenwich, NY, USA; Hatzfeld, Germany;
Hawkinsville, GA; Kentmere, UK; Suzhou, China; West
Groton, MA, USA;
Winchcombe, UK
ISO Status
Apizaco, Mexico, ISO-9001.2008; Corvallis, OR, ISO 9001:2008; East
Walpole, MA, ISO 9001:2008;
Easton, NY, ISO 9001:2008; Floyd, VA, ISO
9001-.2008; Greenwich, NY, ISO 9001:2008; Hatzfeld,
Germany ISO
9001:2008; Hawkinsville, GA, ISO 9001:2008 and AS 9100; Kentmere, UK,
ISO
9001:2008; Suzhou, China ISO 9001:2008; West Groton, MA,
lSO9001:2008; Winchcombe, UK, ISO
9001:2008.
Processes:
Wetlaid, meltblown, carded thermal bonded (point and flat
calendered), latex bonded, thru-air
bonded, needlepunched, thermal
lamination, aqueous and solvent-based saturation, nanofiberwebs,
composites, webs incorporating functional particles
Brand Names:
AFM, AFN, AQF, AlphaPerm, AlphaSeal, AquaSure, BGO, Ca-paceon,
Capofilter, Cyclcguard,
DynaSeal, EnergyGuard, Energy-Guard Plus,
Fastock, HiPerm, Holltek, HiPerrn Plus, H2oudini,
HovoFuse, Hovoglas,
Hovoliner, Hovolon, Hovomat, Hovopulse, Hovosorb, Hovotex,
Hovotherm,
Hovotrim, Hovowipe, lnviscint, Magnaseal, NanoWave, Nanoweb, PerForm,
PurePerm,
Saf'iY' Shielded, Soft'N, Stable,
Stitchbackers, Technostat, Technosfal Plus, The Cat,
lufguard,
Unisorb,ValPac,ViaMat, WallTek
Major Markets
Engine & industrial filtration; High efficiency & specialty
filtration; Energy & industrial specialties
In 2010, Hollingsworth & Vose's global nonwovens sales I
reached $275 million, after dropping 10%
to reach $215 million in 2009.
This sharp turnaround has been attributed to growth in Asia as well
as
recovery in North America and Europe. Sales in Asia have increased since
last year driven by
growth in Chinese domestic demand. The product areas
that are driving growth include engine
filtration, face mask, HVAC and
energy. H&V also saw strong demand for face masks in the first
half
of 2010 due to the swine flu epidemic. That demand tapered off in the
second half of the year.
HVAC demand returned to normal during 2010.
While markets tied to consumers have lagged, the overall business
of H&V has recovered to 2009
levels. At the same time, markets in
China (H&V has a site in Suzhou) and Southeast Asia have
witnessed a
recover. In fact, Asian expansion helped tide H&V over during the
last few years of
market weakness. H&V cu rren tly has operations in
the US, Europe and China and continues to
expand globally with
investments in China and India already underway.
"Global expansion, market diversification and a strong balance
sheet have helped H&V prosper
during difficult times," comments
John Madej, division president for engine and industrial
filtration.
Even amidst challenging market conditions, H&V was able to maintain
all of its
production capabilities while continuing to invest in product
development and process
improvement. This enabled H&V to emerge from
the recession in a strengthened position."
H&V's Engine and Industrial Filtration business has
benefited from the expanding transportation
and energy market and the
growth in demand from BRIC countries during the past three years.
In
India, H&V announced in June it had formed a joint venture with Nath
Group to construct a new
mill near Aurangabad, Maharashtra. The new mill
will be able to produce engine filter media, as
well as selected
products for HVAC filtration and battery separator applications. In
announcing this
expansion, H&V executives said it was the next
logical step in serving its customers in India, where
the demand for
high quality engine and industrial filtration products is growing.
Meanwhile, in Suzhou, China, at its existing plant, H&V is
adding a new paper machine capable of
producing filter media to serve
engine and industrial filtration applications. The new machine will
be
H&V's largest globally and is expected to come on line in the
first half of 2012. It is being
designed with the hill capabilities
needed to serve the growing China and Asia Pacific market with
high
quality, performance-based products.
Commenting on the expansion plans, Josh Ayer, vice president and
general manager, Asia Pacific,
says, "We have been pleased with the
progress of our team in the Asia Pacific region and see this
investment
as the logical next step in our long term growth plan. Since beginning
commercial
production at our Suzhou mill in 2008, we have had good
market acceptance of our products which
are produced at the highest
global standards of quality and performance. H&V is committed
to
further increasing our scope of products and services to meet the needs
of this region."
The Engine and Industrial Filtration segment is also benefitting
from a new product developed to
address market needs for fuel
efficiency, energy efficiency and emissions requirements. This
new
product, Inviscint, is a hydraulic and fuel filter media that responds
to regulatory and
performance requirements in fuel and hydraulic
segments. H&V plans to have a full-scale
commercial launch of this
product this fall.
Meanwhile, H&V's High Efficiency and Specialty Filtration
business continues to enjoy a full
recovery as new products contributed
to positive performance.
Mike Clark, division president high efficiency and specialty
filtration, points to Nanoweb as a
product that has been particularly
well received by the market. Its applicability to both air and
liquid
filtration segments has led to strong interest and adoption on the air
side globally as well as
good progress in liquid applications.
Another interesting new product is Technostat Plus, a higher
performance, lower pressure drop
version of the original Technostat. It
is being widely adopted in face masks, medical filtration and
HVAC due
to its high alpha (ratio of efficiency to pressure drop).Technostat Plus
has the lowest
pressure drop in the market, according to the company.
H&V's Capaceon media was launched in the fourth quarter of
2010. This product line breaks the
link between basis weight and
performance offering increased dust holding capacity for air fil
tration
media at equal basis weights as well as excellent efficiency, water
resistance and mold
resistance. Additional products within the Capaceon
line will be offered in late 2011 for lube
applications.
In addition to new product development, H&V has made
significant capital investment in facilities
worldwide. In Europe,
H&V recently added a new meltblown line in I Iatzfeld, Germany and
is
rebuilding a line in Winchcomb, UK. The new Hatzfeld line has allowed
H&V to add capabilities
such as multilayer composites to its
portfolio, positioning it well for growth in synthetics.
H&V's
rebuild of a line in Winchcombe will be complete by the end of the third
quarter of 2011.
This investment will result in step change performance
improvements in the microglass media
produced at the site, and will more
than double H&V's European microglass filtration and
microglass
battery separator manufacturing capability. H&V currently
manufactures microglass
media in the US, Europe and Asia. These capital
investments help H&V's production stay in sync
with its efforts
in developing technically advanced media for battery, air filtration,
hydraulic and
coalescer applica tions.
In fact, it is the company's Energy and Industrial Specialties
area that has seen many new areas of
product and market expansion such
as laminates for home furnishings and specialty and
microglass
materials. Among these new products is H&V's patented
Cycleguard battery separator
material, which is used in automobile
batteries. According to Mitch Bregman, division president
energy and
industrial specialties, it will be products like these, both within and
outside of filtration,
that are critical to H&V's global
expansion plans and will help H&V position itself for growth.
"The
new products have underscored our reputation of being a high
quality supplier of innovative new
products,"he
says."H&V's key initiatives include global growth,
innovation and standardization of
global business processes to provide
superior customer service."
13. Japan Vilene
Tokyo, Japan
www.vilene.co.jp
2010 nonwovens sales: $266 million
Key Personnel
Toshio Yoshida, president; Yoshiaki Mizutani, managing director,
Yasufumi Matsumiya, director
Plants
Shiga, Tokyo
Processes
Resin bonded, needlepunched, thermal bonded, wetlaid, spunlaced,
meltblown, tackspun
Major Markets
Apparel interlinings, apparel insulation, air filters, plast bases,
automotive mats, automotive
headliners, batter electrode separators
Gross consolidated sales of Japan Vilene for the year ended in
March 2011 was [yen]46 billion,
showing a 0.3% increase from the prior
year. Apparel and medical material sales decreased 12.5%;
air filter
materials increased 1.7%, industrial materials rose 4.1%, automotive
materials sales
increased 9.2% and remaining sales decreased 53%.
While automotive materials showed favorable results domestically
and internationally, industrial
materials and air conditioning materials
were limited by a low growth rate. Also decreasing were
masks and
medical garments. Straight nonwovens sales decreased from [yen] 20.7
billion to [yen]
20.5 billion.
Meanwhile, by region, Japanese sales comprised Y29.8 billion; North
American sales were [yen]10.9
billion and Asia accounted for [yen]4.9
billion. In total, overseas sales accounted for 35.2% of total
sales
compared to 31% the previous sales year. This was attributed to
increases in the automotives
floor mat business in North America as well
as overall automotive materials sales in Asia, led by
Chinese
consumption. Also in Asia, apparel and air conditioning applications
performed well.
At the same time, decreases were felt in automotive materials in
Japan in the second half of the year
as well as in headliners and
battery separators.
In investment news, Japan Vilene is moving forward with increasing
production of floor mat
materials in Japan. Production is expected to
double to 1.2 million sets per year by the end of the
year.
Additionally, the company will start making recycled polyester fibers
made from polyester
bottles in the US beginning in January 2012. Japan
Vilene also makes recycled polyester fiber in
Japan through its
subsidiary Oyama Chemical.
In research and development efforts, Japan Vilene has focused on
developing new applications for
nanofiber-based separators for lithium
ion batteries. The company makes these nonwovens through
an
electrospinning method, hoping they can replace mi-crol'aul film
which typically has been used.
14. Buckeye Technologies
International Top Company Report
Memphis, TN, USA
www.bkitech.com
2010 nonwovens sales: $265 million
Key Personnel
Marko Rajamaa, senior vice president, Nonwovens; Michael Brown,
Nonwovens sales manager-Americas and Far Fast; Nor-bert Busch,
Nonwovens sales manager--Europe and Middle East
Plants
British Columbia, Canada, North Carolina, Steinfurt, Germany
Processes
Airlaid
This year airlaid maker Buckeye Technologies decided to close its
Delta, B.C., Canada facility by the
end of 2012.The Memphis, TN-based
company said in June it no longer made sense to operate the
facility
because of its unfavorable location relative to customers and raw
material suppliers as well
as low capacity utilization. In 2010, the
company had consolidated the site, which had been open
since 1997, from
a two-line operation to one, but this measure failed to make the
facility cost
effective.
Buckeye expects to incur a non-cash asset impairment charge of
about $15 million and $5 million in
restructuring expenses between now
and the end of 2012. The closure is expected to generate
about $30
million in cash over the next 18 months, primarily through the sale of
land and buildings
and a net reduction in working capital.
"It's a great plant with exceptional quality but
it's just difficult for that location to be competitive
when most
of your customers are thousands of miles away," says nonwovens
sales manager
Michael Brown.
Over the next 18 months, some of the output from Delta will go to
Steinfurt, Germany but the bulk
will go to Buckeye's plant near
Charlotte, NC.
Meanwhile, Buckeye continues to grow its overall airlaid sales. For
the year ended June 30,2011,
sales increased to $264.9 million from
$246.8 million the year before as company-wide sales
increased 20% to
$905 million to hit a new record, due largely to more favorable selling
prices.
"We were pleased with our fourth quarter and our record fiscal
year 2011 financial results. Fourth
quarter revenue was significantly
improved over the same quarter a year ago, surpassing the old
record
delivered in the preceding quarter. We indicated on our last
quarter's earnings conference
call that we expected fourth quarter
earnings to be similar to the third quarter, which is
the
case,"says chairman and CEO John Crowe.
While pricing in its core raw material, fluff pulp, has been high
it has not faced the same
skyrocketing prices of synthetic fibers.
"We are seeing quite a lot of people trying to avoid the
volatility
(of synthetics) and moving toward airlaid nonwovens,"Brown
says."Pricing is a little more
stable."
Buckeye's main markets continue to be wipes and hygiene
applications, in April, the company
decided to expand its scope in wipes
by launching a flushable wipe substrate. Launched at INDHX,
AIRspun
Flushable is a new airlaid nonwoven substrate for use in moist toilet
tissue applications, a
market Buckeye views as a strong growth prospect.
According to the company, it adds a new
dimension to its range of
products for wiping applications.
"AIRspun Flushable was designed to meet the performance
criteria of our customers including the
flushability guidelines set
forth by the nonwovens industries associations in North America
and
Europe,"Crowe says."Additionally, the product is made
predominantly with our own fluff pulp
cellulose from renewable
materials, so it fits well with our continued sustainability
efforts."
15. TWE Group
Dierdorf, Germany
www.twe.de
2010 nonwovens Sales: $260 million
Key Personnel
Michael Haddon Plants
Emsdettern, Germany, Dierdorf, Germany; Hangzhou, China
Processes
Drylaid, chemical bonded, thermal bonded, needlepunched, air
through bonded
Applications
Hygiene, household, automotives, geotextiles, building, filtration
Describing 2010 as"not an easy year,"was Michael 1
laddon, managing director of the TWE Group,
Dierdorf, Germany.
Attributing a turnover reduction largely to a substantial drop in sales
to the
automotives market and related areas, the company also saw
reductions in many of its other
markets, which include hygiene,
household, geotextiles, building and filtration.
He added that the company started seeing conditions improve in 2010
and is confident for the
future, due to new business and contracts
secured over the last couple of years which are now
coming onstream.
To help secure itself for the future, TWE continued with its sub
stantial investment plans and built
two more new proprietary lines in
its German sites of Dierdorf and Emsdetten to expand capacity in
its
existing technology. Additionally, TWE has finalized plans to add
another new line, featuring
what Haddon would only call existing TWE
technology, which will come onstream in the first
quarter of next year.
Beyond Germany, the TWE Group opened a Chinese facility in Hangzhou
in 2007 and added a
second line there in 2008. Two years later, Haddon
describes its Chinese operation--which like
Germany serves automotive,
hygiene and technical applications--as in a consolidation phase.
According to Axelsen, spunmelt continues to be strong but the final
measurement of how strong this
business really is will come when all of
the planned capacity installations come online in the next
couple of
years. Fibertex currently operates three spunmelt lines in Denmark and
two in Malaysia
where a third line is currently being completed.
The third Malaysian line was announced in March 2010. It will
increase the site's output by
approximately 22,000 tons of
spunmelt. The line is expected to be complete by the end of this
year.
Fibertex opened the Malaysian facility in 2003 and added a second line
to the site in 2005. In
September, Fibertex announced it would invest
$7.5 million in adding a new beam on one of the
lines. The new beam will
be operational in the second half of the year.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
Also benefiting its hygiene business is its joint venture company
Innowo Print, which operates a
factory in Germany with Christiansen
Print for direct printing onto nonwoven materials. Among
the
developments made through this partnership, which was formed in early
2008, are the ability to
print patterns on lightweight nonwoven
materials that are completely harmless, do not rub off and
have every
conceivable health and safety approval to add fragrance to a color or
add print to a
color that changes color. Already, the venture prints on
1000 of the roughly 75,000 tons of
nonwovens that Fibertex Personal Care
makes each year.
According to Axelsen, investment is never out of the question for
this leg of the business and while
executives wait for the dust to
settle on spunmelt investments around the world, they will be
mapping
out their next strategy. One of these areas is Southeast Asia, where its
Malaysian
operation has already been so successful."There is a lot
of potential there and it's a fast growing
region," Axelsen
explains.
In terms of technologies, efforts will focus on downgauging
weights, lessening raw material costs
and creating softer nonwovens.
Additionally, expanding capabilities in Innowo will allow
Fibertex
customers to offer more differentiated products.
With sales of DKK 413 million last year, Fibertex Nonwovens is set
to receive a boost from the
recent acquisition of Tharreau Industries as
well as investment in South Africa. Additionally, as
many of this
company's core markets--automotives, gcotextiles,
construction--continue to recover,
organic sales are expected to climb
as well.
In March, the company said it would acquire a 65% stake in Tharreau
Industries, a nonwovens
producer based in Chemille, France. With
needlepunched and spunlaced nonwoven capabilities,
Tharreau reported
sales of [euro]53 million last year. Core markets include automotive,
wipes,
medical, construction and industrial applications.
In other expansion efforts, Fibertex announced in January 2010 it
has started a new operation,
including a state-of-the-art needlepunch
line, in South Africa. The new facility makes and mar kets
needlepunch
nonwovens, primarily gcotextiles for road construction as well as
products for the
growing South African automotives industry, which is
moving toward more sophisticated, lower
weight products.
"There are currently a lot of nonwovens being sold in Africa
but thev are heavier weights, made on
older machines, and this
investment will serve infrastructural programs in South Africa
and
neighboring countries," Madsen says.
By creating this subsidiary, Fibertex hopes to capitalize on growth
in South Africa where plans are
in place to invest more than $96 billion
in infrastructure improvements during the next five
years.These include
large road and bridge construction proj ects, which will require large
amounts
of geotextile fabrics. Fven with the great potential the market
holds, it took Fibertex three years to
decide to invest in South Africa
because it can be difficult to do business there, Madsen adds.
The new, high-tech, state-of-the-art factory will initially employ
just over 40 people. Annual turnover
is expected to be approximately
$'12-$15 million with decent profit in the coming years. From
a
long-term strategic perspective, the project is expected to serve as a
gateway--not only to
southern Africa but eventually also to other
markets in the Southern Hemisphere such as
Australasia, India, the
Middle Fast and South America.
The South African company is jointly owned by Fibertex, the Danish
Industrialization Fund for
Developing Countries (1FU) and the South
African company Satyr, which is owned partly by local
industry
specialists and partly by Industrial Development Corporation
(IDC)--South Africa's
equivalent to the Danish State investment
fund Va?kstfonden. Fibertex will invest approximately $5
million in the
company acquiring a 26% ownership share. 1FU has previously participated
in a
similar Fibertex project in Malaysia, and Fibertex has the option
of acquiring IFU's 25.8% in the
future.
17. Asahi Kasei
Osaka, Japan
www.asahi-kasei.co.jp
2010 nonwovens sales: $235 million
Key Personnel
Toshio Takanashi, general manager, nonwoven fabrics division;
Katsuhiko Hinamolo, general
manager, spunbond fabric; Tetsuya Xakamura,
general manager, spunbond fabric
Plants
Moriyama, Nobeoka
Processes
Spunbond, meltblown Brand Names
Eltas, Bemliese, Microweb, Smash, Precise
Major Markets
Coverstock, wipes, gauze, packings, white blood corpuscle-removing
filters
Asahi Kasei is underway with a plan to make polypropylene spunbond
nonwovens for diapers in
Thailand. In partnership with Thailand-based
SAHA group, Asahi Kasei has begun construction on a
20,000-ton-pcr-year
plant, which is going to begin operation in September 2012.
This [yen]5 billion investment is based in Asahi Kasei's
unique technology. The new line will make
thin fiber nonwovens for the
diaper backsheets and a hvdrophilic material for topsheets.
According to reports, Asahi Kasei, which makes a number of types of
nonwovens in Japan, delayed
its international expansion because it was
difficult to maintain a competitive edge; however, the
company
ultimately decided that investment in Thailand could prove effective to
its expansion.
Meanwhile, in Japan, Asahi Kasei makes 13,000 tons of SMS
nonwovens, 13,000 tons polypropylene
spunbond nonwovens, 5500 tons of
polyester spunbond nonwovens, 3500 tons of nylon spunbond
nonwovens,
4500 tons of cupra spunbond nonwovens, 2000 tons of compound spunbond
nonwovens
(under the Precise brand name) and 200 tons of meltblown
nonwovens.
Asahi Kasei has made a number of efforts to strengthen its
nonwovens production, developing
unusual nonwovens. These include
polyester spunbond nonwovens under the brand name Smash,
SMS made with
polyester under the Precise brand name and SMS made with PPS for
electronic
equipment. Currenty, the company is underway with an
expansion of its Precise polyester SMS
nonwovens, which will bring its
capacity to 4000 tons per year next year.
19. Mitsui Chemicals
Tokyo, Japan
www.mitsui.co.jp
2010 nonwovens sales: $203 million
Key Personnel
Haruhiko Uesugi, general manager spunbond fabrics division Plants
Japan, Thailand
Processes
Spunbond, meltblown, needlepunch, thermal bond
Brand Names
Tafnel, Syntex
Major Markets
Coverstock, geotextiles, oil absorbing materials, air filters,
wipes, agriculture materials, household
materials
While many of its Japanese cohorts are looking to mainland Asia for
expansion, Mitsui Chemicals
announced this year it would add to its
Japanese operation. The company is scheduled to complete a
15,000 ton
line in April 2012. The Y5 billion investment will target diapers and
other hygiene
applications in Asia. Mitsui already makes 25,000 tons of
spunbond and 9000 tons of SMMS
nonwovens in Japan.
In addition to its Japanese operation, Mitsui operates a wholly
owned Thailand operation (MHM)
where it makes 30,000 tons of SMMS
nonwovens on two lines. According to industry reports, Mitsui
considered
expanding its Thailand operation or even establishing a Chinese
operation but decided
that Japanese expansion made the most sense for
its operation. It is hoped that this investment,
aided by the free trade
agreement established between China and ASKAN countries in January
2010,
would decrease exports from Thailand to Japan and increase exports from
Thailand to
China.
In new product news, Mitsui Chemicals has developed a new nonwoven
material with a 0.5-1 micron
diameter made on a reconfigured meltblown
line and sold under the brand name Syntex
nonwovens.
Additionally, the company's hollow fiber polypropylene
spunbond nonwovens are being used for oil
absorption mats for oil spills
in seas and rivers.The fiber diameter of the nonwoven is 43 microns
and
the hollow rate is about 20%.
Check out the top 40 Dynamic History online at
nonwovens-industry.com/top_40
20. Pegas Nonwovens
Znojmo, Czech Republic
www.pegas.cz
2010 nonwovens sales: $196 million
Key Personnel
Frantisek Rezac, chief executive officer; Frantisek
Klaska/Technical director; Marian Rasik, chief
financial officer;
RostislavVrbacky, production director
Plants
Znojmo, Bucovice, Czech Republic
ISO Status
ISO-9001: 2000, ISO-14001: 2004, ISO-9004: 2004
Nonwovens Processes
Spunbond, meltblown, SMS, BiCo
Major Markets
Hygiene, agriculture, healthcare, ecology, furniture, building,
protective apparel, industrial
Its first foreign investment is the big news at Czech Republic
based Pegas Nonwovens. After
keeping its first nine lines in its native
country, the company announced in June it would likely build
a nonwovens
manufacturing site in Egypt through a new, wholly-owned subsidiary
Pegas
Nonwovens Egypt.
"The establishment of the company is the result of successful
negotiations with a major customer
who expressed interest in supply
arrangements for our products to its production plants in the
Middle
East. We have received a preliminary award letter for long-term
deliveries to these plants,"
says CEO krantisek Rezac at the time
of the announcement.
The plant, which will represent an investment of C55-M) mil lion,
will likely be located in an
industrial zone not far from Cairo.
Construction will begin once a definitive contract with the
customer is
closed. Beyond the existing customer, executives expect the plant will
open up a
number of new opportunities in the promising markets of North
Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Pegas'plans include building two nonwovens lines in Egypt. The
first will be able to make 20,000
tons of material when it is up and
running in the second half of 2013. The second will have a
similar
output and will come online in 2015-2016, provided market conditions are
favorable, Rezac
continues.
"Within the scope of its strategy, Pegas has long been
monitoring investment opportunities, which
could lead to the growth of
the company and its expansion outside the Czech Republic. The aim of
the
company is to follow its key customers to areas of their production
facilities expansion. The
construction of a manufacturing facility in
Egypt fits perfectly into this strategy,"concludes
Rezac."For
Pegas, this investment also represents a historical watershed moment,
which moves the
company forward from its current position as a major
European nonwoven textile manufacturer to
that of becoming a company
with a more global scope of operation and with a focus on fast
growing
developing markets. We see this as a significant first step on the road
to further
international expansion in the future."
Meanwhile, conditions at its existing two sites in the Czech
Republic are being affected by rapidly
rising raw material prices, which
skyrocketed by almost 50% in 2010. This situation helped drive
sales
revenues up 20% but EBITDA down 9.2%."The year on year comparison
in EBITDA was
affected by positive one-off items, which improved the
financial results of 2009 and which could not
be repeated in subsequent
periods. On the other hand, profitability in 2010 was
negatively
impacted by the growth in raw material prices. Nonetheless, this impact
was largely
compensated by the company's solid operating and sales
performance and the optimization of raw
material inventories,"
Rezac says, adding that without these factors earnings would not have
shown
substantial changes.
Because nearly 90% of sales are related to hygiene, a proven
non-cyclical market, other economic
factors did not impact Pegas'
performance. Happy with the ratio between the hygiene and
technical
segments, Pegas is now focusing on developing more advanced materials,
such as
lightweight, bicomponent materials for the hygiene segment to
meet its customers' needs.
"With respect to customer needs, there have been no major
shifts recently, however, in the future
we could expect additional
movement toward advanced products,"Rezac says. "Customers
seek
lighter materials due to raw materials cost reduction. Also, our
partners cooperate with us on
improvements of material properties, such
as softness, elasticity, extensibility etc.
These developments will surely be made with the help of new
investments including the
forthcoming Egyptian line as well as the
company's ninth Czech line, set to start production this fall.
The
new line--a Reicofil 4 Special--will add as many as 20,000 tons of
capacity to the operation, all
of which are expected to be used
immediately based on current demand levels.
"The line, which will be Pegas'most technologically
advanced yet, will strengthen the position of the
company as one of the
technological leaders in the field of nonwoven textile production and
enable
Pegas to be even more focused on ultralight materials, new
bicomponent applications and other
advanced materials that are planned
to go into commercial production between 2012 and
2014,"Rezac says.
From a regional perspective, Pcgas'safes are steadily focused
on the broader European area. Sales
to Western Europe represented a 58%
share, sales to CEE and Russia reached a 38.3% share and
sales to other
territories represented a 3.7% share in 2010.The fact that all of
Pegas'existing
production lines are located in the Czech Republic
account for the high European ratios but sales in
the Middle East and
Africa are expected to grow in line with the company's Egyptian
investment.
"Indeed the new localization of a production facility outside
the Czech Republic will bring new
challenges/'Rezac admits, and he
adds:"However, secured sales of a large part of expected
production
capacity significantly reduce the risk of the investment. The ongoing
focus on the
execution of an expansion strategy is one of the key
prerequisites for the company's future success
and we are confident
that this investment will strengthen Pegas'posi-tion in the global
nonwovens
market."
21. Colbond
Arnhem, the Netherlands
www.colbond.com
2010 nonwovens sales: $190 million
Colbond Inc. Enka, NC, USA
Key Personnel
Jan van Boldrik, CEO; Rob van derValk, CFO; Bart Austin, president
Colbond Inc.; Blair Rawes,
director sales and marketing, construction;
Randy Cook, director sales and marketing, NAFTA
Plants
Emmen and Arnhem, the Netherlands; Obernburg, Germany; Asheville,
NC, USA
Processes
Extruded, spunbond, thermal bonded and specialties
Brand Names
Colback, Enkamat, Enkadrain, Colbonddrain, Enkagrid, Enka-Spacer,
Enka-Channel, EnkaRetain &
Drain
Major Markets
Flooring, automotive, filtration, construction, civil engineering,
building and various industrial
applications
Colback sales jumped an impressive 20% last year at Dutch nonwovens
maker Colbond. While the
company does not report its nonwovens results,
industry sources put sales at the supplier of
geotextile and flooring
solutions around $190 million.
Contributing to the increase was the macroeconomic recover)'
of most of Colbond's core target
markets as well as flooring trends
benefitting Colback's tufted carpet tile materials and
Colbond's
success in automotives and filtration applications.
To continue this growth, Colback has committed to a new Colback
yarn line in its Emmen, the
Netherlands plant while in the US
preparations for additional nonwovens production capacity are
underway
with an investment project scheduled to be complete early next year. A
second US
expansion has already been approved for the end of 2012.
"On both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, we have been selling out
our nonwoven production capacity
which has led to new capacity
investments at all our manufacturing locations in 2011 and more
planned
for 2012,"says CEO Jan van Boldrik."Growth could be realized
in China and in North
America--our carpet tile business has been strong.
Carpet tiles were enjoying an increasing
popularity among architects,
designers and end users. Meanwhile the bad weather in Europe has
given a
boost for dust control mat sales resulting in a substantial increase in
demand for our
primary backings."
Like the rest of the nonwovens industry, Colbond's recovery
has not been without its problems. Key
among them are sharp increases in
raw material prices. Since the end of 2009, prices of key
ingredients
such as polyester, poIyamide-6 and polypropylene have increased as much
as 60%.
While some of these increases have been mitigated by increased
manufacturing and organizational
efficiency improvements, the company
has had to levy a number of pricing increases in late 2010
and into
2011.
A market which has been exceeding expectations is the waterproof
bituminous roofing membrane
market.
"To maximize supply volumes, major initiatives were launched
to stretch machine output and
optimize our Colfors product
portfolio," van Boldric says/Throughout the year, close
communication
with our customers has been vital in safeguarding the
reliable delivery of Colfors and of our Colback
premium roofing membrane
reinforcements."
Meanwhile, in the automotives market, sales of primary and
secondary backings to the automotive
industry significantly exceeded the
last two years as Colbond stabilized its leadership position in
Europe
and achieved growth in China where demand for premium German car brands
has been
strong. In North America, light vehicle production has seen
double-digit growth in 2010, a trend
that is continuing into 2011.
Helping Colbond in the automotives market is its ability to make
highly stable, low weight
nonwovens. "Pre-stretching of Colback
before molding in tufted car carpeting is a common practice
to reduce
both the weight of tufted carpet and the consumption of nonwovens,"
van Boldrik
explains."A lot of focus of our research and
development resources have been and will continue to
be on reducing the
mass of Colback further while retaining its molding and tuft hold
performance
on the same high level. Progress in this field not only is
an answer to the industry's drive for
environmental sustainability.
It is also addressing the constant pressure that our
automotive
customers arc facing to cut costs further."
Colback Pro is playing a significant role in maximizing product
perfonnance while helping reduce
the carbon footprint of the automotives
industry.The product's bicomponent composition of a
polyester
filament core in a polypropylene skin allows a reduction in molding
temperatures
resulting in substantially lower energy usage.
This product is an example of how Colbond is working on innovative
nonwovens and contributing to
the automotive industry's
environmental sustainable initiatives, according to the company.
Colbond
expects to launch new products to further contribute to this effort in
2012.
Colback is also offering green alternatives for the carpet backings
market. Its Colback Green, a new
range of environmentally friendly
primary carpet backings made of 100% recycled and sustainable
materials,
was launched in January 2011.
"Colbond launched the industry's first nonwoven carpet
backing made of post-consumer recycled
polyester in 2007,"van
Boldrik says."Following intense research and development work and
a
strategic partnership with carpet yam manufacturer and polymer engineer
Aquafil, we are now
producing a range of nonwovens comprising
bi-component filaments with a post-consumer recycled
bottle flake PET
core and rPA6-skin generated from carpet waste. Colback Green has been
well
received by leading carpet manufacturers and generated a lot of
interest across the industry."
In the roofing market, Colbond is using recycled polypropylene for
the manufacture of the
multifunctional green roof solution EnkaRetain
& Drain, specifically designed to comply with the
demands of the
North American market. This LEED credited concept has been fully
embraced by
the industry, according to van Boldrik who adds that the use
of recycled material is not the only way
Colbond is focusing on
sustainability.
"We want to become an exemplar 7 member of the technical
textiles industry in our pursuit of
environmental sustainability and
ecological balance,"he says."Programs launched in this
scope
therefore are not limited to the use of recycled content alone. We have
also launched major
initiatives to optimize manufacturing technologies
in order to reduce energy consumption and
redirect waste streams into
reuse and recycling alternatives with the elimination of waste as
our
ultimate goal."
Looking back at market results, Colbond saw civil engineering
markets pick up again after the
economic crisis, however not all
segments have fully recovered yet. Especially in North America,
the
market still is somewhat slow. In many European countries, however,
demand for the
company's geosynthetics has been strong, maxing out
capacity for certain products especially
during the peak season.
Meanwhile, in filtration, Colbond continues to see growth. Products
specifically designed for this
industry serve as a support layer for
filter media or activated carbon layers. These nonwovens are
also widely
applied as pre-filter and spacer materials/A lot of focus on this market
and close
cooperation with existing customers as well as with new
prospects has generated substantial sales
growth in 2010 and into the
current year,"van Boldrik explains.
In fact, it is product leadership and customer relationships seen
in the filtration market that
permeate Colbond's entire business.
Long-term industry partnerships will continue to contribute to
the
growth of Colbond's nonwoven and other businesses."With many
product innovations launched
recently and more in the pipeline, we will
retain and grow our market share in our key markets and
move into new
ones already on our radar,"van Boldrik concludes.
much potential due to more population and recent
rapid economic growth,"says the company. "In
this kind of
demand background, we think we have more in formation for Asia than US
and Europe
competitors.Therefore we try to get the initiative in this
market and still have favorable reply and
feedback from the big
customers in Asia."
In addition to its Chinese operations,TAK makes 43,000 tons of
spunbond polypropylene nonwovens
in Korea.These nonwovens are sold to a
number of countries in the Asian market including Japan,
Korea and
China. Additionally, hygiene investment in Korea is not likely in the
near term because of
that market's maturity and a low growth rate
for polypropylene spunbond nonwovens. However, due
to increased demand
for polyester-based industrial products, TAK makes 4400 tons of a
polyester
spunbond in Korea and expects a second line to start there
next year, executives add.These new
lines are targeting geotextile,
construction, filtration and other industrial markets.
Moving back to hygiene, TAK's recent investment announcements
show how confident the company
is of the company's growth in
Asia."After the Chinese market, ASEAN has the most potential
market
before India,"executives say."Among the ASEAN countries,
Indonesia has the biggest
population and the strongest economic growth.
Toray has had other subsidiaries in Indonesia which
helped in our
decision to invest there."
The new Indonesia line is set to come onstream in 2013.The new site
will operate as PT. Polytech
Jakarta (TPJ) and will be headquartered in
Tangerang.The new line will have an annual ca pacity of
about 20,000
tons.
According to the company, investment in Asia is tricky because of
the key differences between the
main regions in terms of economic
development levels, developing businesses, incomes and
consumer
behaviors."Considering this market situation, we establish sales
strategies for each
customer with a different product, service and
supply area."
That said, India, one of the key markets for growth in Asia, has
not been targeted by TAK, but this
country is reportedlv under in
vestigation and could likely be the location of the company's
next
major investment.
For now, however, TAK has its hands full, with one new line up and
ainningand two more in the
constmction phase.This new capacity will be a
lot to introduce to the market, but TAK feels the
market is ready for
it.
23. Toyobo
Osaka, Japan
www.toyobo.co.jp
2010 nonwovens sales: $174 million
Key Personnel
Yukio Kawasaki, general manger spunbond division of Toyobo, Akio
Oda, president of Kureha
Plants
Tsuruga, Iwakuni, Shiga Processes
reflect
actual performance. "Since geotextile labs generate critical data
used in civil and
environmental engineering designs, testing standards
and accreditation are absolutely necessary to
protect public safety and
the environment,"he added.
This latest accreditation further distinguishes Propex's
Ringgold laboratory. Additional lab
accreditations and certifications
held by Propex - Ringgold, include CE, BNQ, and the gold standard
for
geosynthetic testing, GAI-LAP. In addition, the plant's quality
system is maintained under ISO
9001:2008 certification and it is ISO
14001 certified as a result of documented procedures and
efforts to
improve and protect the environment.
"Strict manufacturing specifications, quality control
monitoring and laboratory testing ensure our
products consistently meet
or exceed the most demanding customer specifications,"
says
Thaxton."Like any quality-driven manufacturer, we will continue to
invest in testing and
accreditations to keep us sharp and to keep our
infrastructure safe."
Roofing is another important market for Propex. Its Opus Roof
Blanket was launched at the 2010
International Roofing Expo in New
Orleans, LA in February. This blanket, which was in development
and
testing for the last six years with constant feedback from roofing
contractors, creates an
entirely new category in roofing underlayment.
"Unlike felt paper and plastic sheeting underlayment, Opus
Roof Blanket was developed with
roofing contractors in mind,"says
executive vice president Ralph Bruno."The unique composition
of
Opus gives it the most slip-resistant surface technology, meeting a top
concern for roofing
contractors. Additionally, the one-of-a-kind
"blanket"surface makes it easy for roofers to snap a
chalk
line."
In addition to these benefits, Bruno says roofers can expect to see
many more advantages versus
felt paper and plastic sheeting underlayment
when they use Opus on their next job. "Opus is
lightweight and
easier to work with, cleaner with less wasted material, provides more
coverage per
roll and is faster to install," said Bruno.
"I'm looking forward to launching Opus at the IRE,"
he added."When roofers get this product in
their hands,
they'll quickly realize it is vastly different and a far superior
product than both felt
paper and plastic sheeting underlayment. Opus
truly is in a category of its own."
The product is being distributed by Wolf, York, PA.
Meanwhile, in the carpet backing area, Propex was awarded a US
patent in March 2010, showing
that its latest technology provides
improved performance, a plush feel and many other advantages
that offer
value to both its customers and the consumer."
With the market-leading brands Actionbac and Polybac carpet backing
products, Propex is the
largest independent backing producer in the
industry. Polybac primary backing provides a
dimensionally stable
foundation for superior tuftability, pattern definition and versatility.
Actionbac
carpet backing effectively provides long-term stability in
almost any carpet installation and is
crucial in extending the life of
the carpet. Innovation remains the anchor of Propex's success
in
providing high performance materials and solutions for the flooring
industry.
24. Jacob Holm industries
Basel, Switzerland www.jacob-holm.com 2010 nonwovens sales: $165
million
Key Personnel
Poul Mikkelsen, chairman; Stephen Landon, president and COO; Finn
Schoning, group controller;
Ginny Casstevens, vice president, sales
development--Americas; Jean Francois De Gruttola, key
account
director--USA; Richard Knowlson--global product development director;
Alexis Porcher-global commercial manager; Chip Holton, vice
president--operations--USA; Gilles Hourlier,
vice
president--operations--France
Plants
Asheville, NC, USA and Soultz, France
Processes
Hydroentangling
Brand Names
Lidro, Rough N Soft, TAU
Major Markets
Personal care, home care, hygiene, packaging, specialty &
technical industrial applications
An increase in sales value and volumes helped Jacob Holm's
sales increase slightly between 20W
and 2010 as all three of the
company's production lines--two in Europe and one in the
US-continued to run at maximum capacity 24 hours a day seven days a
week.
By region, sales were split nearly evenly between its US and
European operations, but the company
does not disclose where these
products land. Executives would, however site Latin America as
an
important growth market in the premium wipes market.
Meanwhile, the US--where Jacob Holm operates a large spunlace line
near Asheville, NC--remains
strong with all results in line with
strategic plans."We remain well positioned in the premium
wipe
segment with a proven capability to engineer products to changing market
needs (alternate
fibers, sustainable options at competitive prices,
value added enhancements),"explains president
and COO Stephen
Landon.
At the same time, Europe saw continued investment in line upgrades
to support both critical new
product development and productivity
improvements.This in turn delivered improved profitability.
In Europe
the product development focus has been split between specialty wipes and
general
hygiene with feminine care and diaper components prominent.
While wipes, particularly premium varieties, are certainly
important to Jacob Holm, the company
continues to investigate
alternative uses for its spunlace materials. In fact, a recent
internal
analvsis identified that Jacob Holm has 25-30% of its combined
product/sales volumes
outside of wipes. Success in non-wipe markets can
be attributed to Jacob Holm's ability to make
extremely lightweight
spunlace materials, now down as low as 15 gsm.This has opened up
new
markets in absorbent hygiene products such as baby and adult diapers and
feminine hygiene
items. "This is one of the key focus areas that
Jacob Holm expects to expand further over the next
two
years/'Landon explains.
Other areas of interest include a number of key industrial
applications where again the ability to
produce lightweight webs is
valued, he adds. "While the number of applications remains small,
the
potential volume in each of these applications could be very
significant."
These efforts have so far been met with considerable success. One
recent winner is a premium 35
gsm product with physical property
characteristics that mirror those of standard 45 50 gsm
products
currently sold in the marketplace.This has allowed Jacob Holm customers
to drive down
costs without compromising their product. Additionally,
the company has optimized its ability to
manufacture lightweight
substrates and has developed a new portfolio of lightweight
products
ranging from 15gsm - 25gsm which are ideal for hygiene and various
composite
applications.
Meanwhile, in wipes, which are still very much a focus for the
company, Jacob Holm has
successfully commercialized alternate fibers in
premium wipes. These alternative feedstocks include
100% cellulosic,
regenerated cotton fiber, recycled polvester fiber, extruded soy fiber
and PLA
fiber. Additionally, Jacob Holm is working with development
partners to develop additional sources
of alternative cellulosics.
"Jacob Holm has, with its partner customers, been at the
tore-front of developing greener, more
sustainable products for the
wipes market for over two years," Landon says."Much of the
company's
activity has focused on the overall development of the
supply chain for these new or alternate
sustainable raw materials. In
some cases Jacob Holm has had to be involved in establishing the
whole
background supply chain to ensure it is both viable and auditable."
In addition to new product development efforts, growth will come
from future investment. While the
company has not yet an nounced firm
plans for additional North American investment, executives
have made no
secret of the need for additional capacity.
"Jacob Holm America had a successful 2010, during which
detailed plans were considered for a
further investment in a second high
capacity'spunlace line - these plans will continue to be
evaluated
as economic conditions/raw material pricing trends / customer next
generation programs
evolve--Jacob Holm definitely wants to grow in North
America," Landon says."Jacob Holm is
considering three
different variations, but we will not say more on this as final solution
will be
influenced by targeted market and customer requirements."
Meanwhile, Jacob Holm's two-line European operation conducts
more than 30% of its sales outside
of wipes and expects to sec this
percentage exceed 40% by next year on the heels of growth in
hygiene and
industrial applications."Jacob Holm sees a brighter future in
Europe for "differentiated
wipes" where we can engineer value
for customers and leverage our capabilities with obvious
targets to be
less exposed to commodity and Standard wipe markets."
As the product portfolio expands, Jacob Holm France plans for
specified investments of [euro]4-5
million over the next three years, to
build new generation capabilities for spunlace, Landon
explains.
These investments, when they occur, will surely be inline with
Jacob Holm's newly adopted strategy
of focusing on a wide range of
fiber inputs and a narrow range of products."For the last twoplus
years, a different strategy has been adopted with success, namely, a
much wider range of fiber
inputs is being utilized to produce a narrower
range of targeted products that best meet the latest
demands of specific
end markets. To this end Jacob Holm is focused on the following critical
end
use markets,"Landon concludes.
differentiated and value-add products with
an important focus on automotive and insulation,"Vesey
says.
In the insulation segment, in late 2010Vita launched EnGuard
insulation, an environmentally
friendly material providing long lasting
superior thermal and acoustic insulating properties, and in
2011 it
formed a distribution agreement with Pacific Insulation to sell the
product in the Western
US and Canada.
EnGuard's low impact manufacturing process implements recycled
plastic, PET bottle flake,
providing a sustainable alternative to
traditional insulations. Unlike other comparable materials, the
process
eliminates the need to add harmful chemicals resulting in a product that
is free of
formaldehydes, Borates, VOCs and glass fiber irritants. The
product is reportedly made at all three
ofVita's US sites.
Meanwhile, in Europe, Vita Group continues to operate sites in
France, Belgium and Sweden
through its Libeltex subsidiary, which serves
novelty healthcare applications and focuses on
innovative product
development in hygiene, filtration, automotive, furniture and building
and
construction.The group closed its UK sites a few years ago to focus
on North America and Europe.
In addition to this closure,Vita has focused on a lean management
program, waste reduction efforts
and improved supply chain efficiency to
contain the impact of raw material prices. These efforts led
to a number
of changes made to the senior commercial and research and development
personnel to
support market share growth ambition, according to Vesey.
"We expect raw material prices not to come back to
pre-recession levels due to the growing demand
from emerging
markets," she says."As such Vita will constantly search for
adding value to its
products and services through customer focused
innovation, supply chain optimization and lean
manufacturing."
27. Georgia-Pacific
Atlanta, GA, USA
www.gp.com
2010 nonwovens sales: $152 million
Plants
Green Bay, Wl, USA (two facilities); Glen, France; Avigliano, Italy
Processes
Airlaid, carded
Brand Names
Airtex, Dritex
Major Markets
Baby wipes, industrial and food service wipes, feminine hygiene,
absorbent cores, tabletop, medical,
moist toilet tissue, meat packaging
While best known for its paper and tissue businesses in both the
retail and away-from-home sectors,
Atlanta, GA-based Georgia-Pacific is
one of the world's most successful users of airlaid technology.
Its
output targets both its own end product business as well as external
businesses in the baby
wipes, industrial and food service wipes,
feminine hygiene, absorbent core, tabletop, medical, moist
toilet tissue
and meat packaging segments.
Meanwhile, G-P's nonwovens business, which centers on airlaid
technology, has continued to
perform well by focusing on improving its
production and reducing costs despite challenging raw
material prices.
Benefiting G-P were existing contracts, put in place before raw
material prices escalated, which
kept their impact to G-P under check.
Additionally, G-P has been successful in unearthing new
market segments
for its airlaid technology that had been using other materials. These
markets
were typically using technology that was more expensive than
airlaid but G-P was able to show how
pulp can perform just as well at a
lower cost, according to executives.
G-P has also been hard at work improving its environmental profile,
an effort it was rewarded for
this year through its Environmental
Excellence Awards.
"Across Georgia-Pacific, employees are using innovative
approaches to help reduce our
environmental impact and become a more
sustainable business,"says Jim I lannan, chief executive
officer
and president."By continuously improving environmental performance
in our operations, we
are creating more value for the company and the
communities where we operate. Our
Environmental Excellence Awards help
us recognize projects and programs that are leading the
way."
Among the successful efforts were reduction in emissions, improved
wastewater treatment systems
and improved energy efficiency.
28. Andrew industries
Manchester, UK
www.andrewindustries.com
2010 nonwovens sales: $140 million
Key Personnel
John Lewis, president, Southern Felt; Mike Konesky, vice president,
Southern Felt
Plants
South Carolina, China, UK, India Processes
Needlepunch, thermal bonded, chemical finishes
Brand Names
With most of its nonwovens output clearly centered on needlepunch,
Andrew's next step will be
exploration and investment in
complementary technologies including spunbond, meltblown
and
hvdroentangling. Other goals include distribution of products made in
Asia into Europe and
North America and increased focus on research and
development. "Our investment in research and
development will he
increased to broaden our product range especiallv where our existing
products
are under threat to alternative products which we do not
manufacture at this time but are likely to
become the products for the
future," Lewis concluded.
29. Union industries
Masserano, Italy 2010 nonwovens sales: $135 million
Key Personnel
Matteo Moltrasio, vice president; Luigi Cassano, managing director;
AlessandroTaramasso,
commercial director
Plant
Masserano, Biella, Italy
Processes
Spunbond, spunmelt, carded thermal bonded, apertured
Brand names Spundouce
Major Markets
Hygiene, wipes, medical, agriculture, industrial
Sales increased 25% to [euro]106 million ($143 million) for
Masserano, Italy-based Union Industries
due mainly to the partial
allocation of a new production line, which came on-stream as planned
in
the third quarter of 2010 and started making nonwovens for hygiene
applications during the
fourth quarter.
The new line, a brand new, state-of-the-art Rcicofil spunmelt line
added 24,000 tons per year to
Union's operation, bringing its total
output to 84,000 tons per year.
As it increases the size of its operation, Union has also been
focused on widening its scope/'During
the year, our product port
folio has been further widened. Besides the standard weights and
the
range of three-dimensional apertured materials by now already
consolidated, our trend is more
and more focused on specialties and
ultralight weights," says vice president Matteo Moltrasio.
In addition to expansion, Union Industries has focused on improving
the environmental footprint of
its operation. In fact, one major goal
achieved by the company from January 2011 is sourcing 100%
of the energy
consumed from renewable sources, Moltrasio adds.
29. Textilgruppe Hof
International Top 40
increase,"says Detlev
Kappel, managing director of Techtex and Global sales director for
technical
nonwovens."All of our plants are very busy at the moment
and have been over the last four or five
quarters."
Recycling is the world's responsibility, but at USFibers, it
is our way of life. USFibers produces
regenerated polyester staple fiber
for a wide variety of applications. Whether it is commodity or
specialty
fiber, we have the capabilities to produce a wide range of products that
ensures effective
and cost saving processability for our customers.
USFibers recycles all forms of PET and then
converts it into a high
quality, regenerated staple fiber. We are more than just a
manufacturing
company; we are a company that makes a difference every day. Our goal is
to make
the world a little more green in our pursuit of Excellence
through Innovation. USFibers is an
excellent domestic polyester staple
fiber option for the automotive, filtration, construction,nonwoven,
home furnishings, and geo-textile industries. Our years of experience
with various polymers
have earned us our outstanding reputation. We have
a proud history of consistently providing high
qualify recycled staple
fiber to our customers.
Hof supplies Europe through three plants in Germany and North
America through its site in
Lincolnton, NC.The group has a fairly large
marketshare with German automobile makers tjat
export vehicles around
the world.These automakers favor Hof's location near to Central
and
Eastern Europe, where demand is great.
Growth in automotives and other industrial markets has led Hof to
increase its capacity by moving
and improving existing equipment, which
will benefit the business beginning next year. Additionally,
Hof is
adding to its stitchhonding capacity in Mittweida, Germany to improve
its position in the
decorative head-liner business and other segments,
also in 2012.
Also benefitting Hof's business in the automotives realm is
MultiKnit, a foam replacement material
for car seats, which is being
used by BMW and a couple of other automakers."We see more
potential
for this and we have also developed a new grade for leather seats
because the original
product was designed for woven seat
cloths,"Kappel says.
Meanwhile, Hof's spunlace plant in Reichenbach, Germany is
running at full capacity. Described as
completely different from what is
traditionally considered spunlace, output from this line features
great
sound absorption, making it ideal for the automotives industry. In
addition to automotives
applications, Hof has been targeting roofing
applications with this new generation, tailor made
spunlace nonwovens,
Kappel adds.
Hof's US arm, Hof Textiles Inc. (HTI), based in Lincolnton,
NC, continues to be a leading supplier to
the North American automotive
markets where it supplies automotive thermal and acoustic parts
that
provide effective noise reduction for a wide frequency range, superior
appearance and
excellent process capability when used in a wide array of
different molding processes and when
combined with various other
materials."Innovation and growth are supported by
numerous
investments in new technology and capacity to constantly increase the
value of Hof
nonwovens for our customers and the North American
automotives industry supporting our
ambitious goals for further
growth,"says Lothar Hackler, president HTI. "New innovative
products,
continued investment in new production capacity and capability
with our excellent customer service
and technical expertise supported a
significant and ongoing growth in sales and market share in
2010"
The other side of Hof's business, apparel, is finally
stabilizing after decreasing for years due to the
market's
migration to China. "Business has stabilized after years of
declining. Moreover, we were
able to generate growth in sales,"says
Harald Stini, managing director."One reason for this was that
some
customers were coming back from Asia to Europe as they need
much'quicker response' to
serve the market better. So
interlinings is still a strategic market segment for Hof's
nonwovens
business and we are committed to it for the future."
Also propping it for future growth is a joint venture agreement
with Supreme Nonwovens in India.
All market segments--filtration,
automotive and interlinings--showed upward trends throughout
most of the
year. Fortunately, the business was only slightlv impacted by global
financial troubles, a
situation that mirrors the overall economv in
India."Again we have seen double digit growth last
year mainly for
industrial products related to automobiles and filtration,"Stini
says."Also for
interlinings, we were able to gain significant
market share as we have domestic production now."
Looking ahead, Hot expects to continue to grow as new investments
come onstream and it expands
its role on both sides of its
business."Our business is still going toward industrial
applications but
interlinings is still there," Kappel says."We
are still dedicated to that market and we will look for
new strategies
to grow there."
31. Precision Custom Coatings
Totowa, XJ, USA
www.pcc-usa.com
2010 nonwovens sales: SI25 million
Key Personnel
Peter Longo, chairman and COO, ScottTesser, president and CEO; Rich
Noble, CKO and treasurer;
Dan Kamat, vice president, Industrial Textile
division; Shaile Dusaj, director industrial marketing
and sales; Keith
Martin, industrial business manager; Cerry Welkley, national sales
manager; Dave
Reaman, director filtration services
Processes
Needlepunch, thermal bonded, chemical bonded, high lofts, heat
activated adhesive coatings,
specialty finishes and composites
Major Markets
Apparel interlinings, automotive fabrics, medical, fabric softener
substrates, furniture and bedding,
filtration, vinyl substrates, home
furnishings, wipes, hygiene, footwear, roofing and
construction,
filtration
Filtration sales continue to benefit Precision Custom Coatings. The
company added a new line to
help supply this business earlier this year
and is already in talks to add capacity again. The only
problem is
deciding where to put it as years of constant investment have left the
nonwovens
manufacturer space-poor at its Totowa, NJ headquarters.
In 2010, PCC reported sales increased from $115 million to $125
million thanks to continued
growth in its technical area and a leveling
off of its apparel-related business. Of particular note is
the
company's filtration business. Although it is a relatively new
business for PCC--the company
only entered it two years ago--it is
already making a substantial impact, comprising about 18% of
total
sales.
"We are really concentrating on expanding beyond the commodity
dry filtration areas into higher
rated MERV products,"explains
Scott Tesser, president and COO."We've already established a
good
customer base in lower MERV ratings and have expanded into higher
areas. What we are focusing
on is more technical, less commoditized.This
is where the growth will come."
In just two years, PCC has sold out two lines and is quickly
filling up a third in this market."lt has
been difficult to learn
the market but we have adapted quickly," Tesser says.
PCC currently has three lines dedicated to filtration. Two of these
are older apparel-related lines,
modified to meet the needs of
filtration; the third is a brand new line which came onstream
in
January. This third line is allowing the company to expand its focus
beyond HVAC into other
filtration markets.
In addition to filtration, mattress and bedding continues to grow
for the company thanks to its
strong growth in the Northeast. The
company is getting into composites instead of just offering
highloft
tops. New products include filler cloths and panels. Another market,
automotive, has
certainly had its challenges during the past year but
luckily for PCC, it has avoided many of the
commodity markets and
instead, most of its products are premium level. "There are
tremendous
price pressures everywhere you look in that market but we
have been able to put through some
prices increases. We have found that
customers are more understanding than ever before."
PCC's traditional market apparel still comprises about 50% of
its business with nearly all, about
90%, of it is conducted in Asia
where PCC operates three manufacturing facilities in China.
As
production costs have escalated in China, PCC has begun to look
elsewhere in Asia to
manufacture their apparel interlining needs.
Following in the success of its entry into the filtration market,
PCC has begun to penetrate the same
market in China. According to the
company there is tremendous potential in this developing market
within
China and Asia.
In fact, it is filtration growth in general that is at the top of
PCC's radar moving forward/The last
year has been all about
building this new business and there are still tremendous
growth
opportunities in filtration/'Tesser adds."It's not
anywhere near a mature business for us."
31. Unitika
Osaka, Japan
www.unitika.co.jp
2010 nonwovens sales: $125 million
Key Personnel
HiroshiYoshihara, general manager, nonwoven fabrics; Tetsuya
Yoshimura, general manager,
spunbond fabric sales
Plants
Okazaki, Tarui
Processes
Spunbond, spunlaced
Brand names
Marix, Eleves, Appeal, Wiwi, Alcima, Terramac, Cottoace
Major markets
Agriculture materials, carpet backings, geotextiles, cable wraps,
wipes, storing bags, coverstock
roofing sheets
The nonwovens production capacity of Unitika includes 22,000 tons
of polyester-based spunbond
nonwovens and 5000 tons of spunlaced
nonwovens. Additionally, Thai Tusco, Unitika's Thai
subsidiary
makes 4000 tons of spunbonded nonwovens.
In the past year, Unitika has benefitted from restored demand for
its polyester based spunbond
nonwovens, particularly in Thailand. In
fact, according to reports, demand is so strong that the
company is
looking into expanding its operation in Thailand to help it improve its
position in the
carpet backings, roofing and geotextile markets.
Meanwhile, Unitika's spunlace business is part of a joint
venture established with Marusan Industry.
This partnership began making
cotton spunlaced nonwovens on one 5000-ton-per-year line in April
2011.
Marusan, which has a 65% share, uses the nonwovens in powder puffs and
feminine hygiene
products while Unitika sells them to end users.
33. Lydall
Manchester, CT, USA
www.lydall.com
2010 nonwovens sales: $123 million
Key Personnel
W. Leslie Duffy, Lydall chairman of the board; Dale Barnhart,
Lydall president and CEO; Erika
Turner, Lydall vice president, CFO and
Treasurer; Mona Estey, Lydall vice president--human
resources; Paul
Igoe, Lydall vice president, general counsel and cor porate secretary;
Ian Grieves,
performance materials senior vice president filtration
engineering materials; Michael Barnes,
Performance Materials senior vice
president Operations; Peter Kurto, Performance Materials senior
vice
president life sciences
Plants
Rochester, NH, USA; Saint Rivalain, France; Green Island, NY, USA;
Heerlen, the Netherlands
Major Markets
Specialty insulation, high-efficiency air and liquid filtration
media Major Brand Names Apply Mat,
Arioso, Biotherm, CRS Wrap,
Cryo-Lite, LydAir MG, LydAir MB, LydAir SC, LyPore Defender,
LyPore MB,
LyPore SC, LyPore XL, Lythcrm, ManniGlas, Solupor Membrane
Nonwovens sales in Lydall Performance Materials increased sharply
from $98 million in 2009 to
$123 million in 2010 thanks to its ability
to react to a sudden uptick in demand once the economy
recovered.
"We saw a recovery in all of our served markets in 2010;
however, all industries remained relatively
cautious compared to
pre-recessionary times,"CEO Dale Barnhart says."Markets
showing particular
strength included power generation, commercial
applications and industrial applications.
Cryogenics, meanwhile, was
relatively weak early in 2010 but showed strong signs of improvemcnt
in
the second half of the year."
Opportunities for Lydall are mainly driven by markets engaged in
product and technology
development that are demanding higher levels of
filtration performance. Additionally, opportunities
exist for geographic
expansion in filtration and insulation in regions including Eastern
Europe,
South America, India and China. These regions continue to invest
in infrastructure improvements
and demand more from their filtration and
insulation applications.
In new product news, Lydall's Arioso high performance air
filtration composite media was chosen as
the premium filter media in a
range of high efficiency fume extraction filters being produced by
a
prominent filter manufacturer in the UK. Fume extraction filters are
used to remove fine
particulate matter, which is contained in smoke and
fumes generated by laser/plasma cutting and
welding operations.The
filters engineered with Arioso are designed to remove even the
finest
particles to provide cleaner air discharge in the workplace and the
environment.
"Lydall Performance Materials is continuously investing in new
product development. Currently,
several wide-ranging and exciting new
technologies are in the pipeline, all specifically targeted at
unique
applications and requirements in the marketplace. Lydall will continue
to launch new
products based on evolving technologies to meet the
changing market requirements," Barnhart
says.
Recent investments like a new needled line and an upgrade to a
wetlaid line in Green Island, NY, as
well as a capacity increase in
France, have helped Lydall expand its offerings to its customers
in
terms of size and scope."Both new products and increased capacity
have allowed us to react
quickly to the sudden change in market
requirements after the economic crisis and allow us to
support our
customers on a global basis going forward,"Barnhart adds.
34. The Jofo Group
Guanzhou, Guang Dong China
www.jofo.com
2010 nonwovens sales: $118 million
Plants
Guanzhou, Weifang, Shandong, China
Processes
Spunbond, meltblown, SMS
Markets
Hygiene, medical, industrial
China's The Jofo Croup announced in January it would invest
more than $60 million in a new 3.2
meter wide, multi-beam Reicofil-4
spunmelt line and a separate finishing line in its Weifang plant
in
Shandong, China. The line will be delivered in April 2012 and is
scheduled to start up in the
fourth quarter of 2012. Currently, there is
an existing 4.2 meter Reicofil-IV multi-beam line at the
Weifang plant,
which will be able to make more than 30,000 tons of material after the
second line is
complete. Jofo will target the rapidly growing disposable
hygiene and medical application areas in
Asia with the new capacity.
Perhaps the largest nonwovens producer in China, Jofo's
current nonwovens capacitv is more than
55,000 tons, and the company has
production facilities in Guangdong, Shandong and some other
areas in
China. The second Weifang line and other ongoing projects will bring the
company's total
capacity above 100,000 tons by the end of 2012.
Jofo plans to continue investing in adding new capacity as well as
research and development in the
nonwoven areas to forge core competence
in supplying premium nonwovens to disposable hygiene,
medical,
geotextile, industrial and other application areas, according to
executives.
The Jofo Group was established in 2000 with the goal of becoming
one of the world's largest
nonwovens producers.The company
currentlv owns 10 subsidiary' companies in Guangdong,
Shandong,
Hubei, Sichuan and Hong Kong and has annual sales of about RMB800
million ($118
million).
Based in China, Jofo sells its nonwovens all over the world.
Processes include composite, meltblown,
SMS and spunbond for hygiene,
industrial and geotextile applications.
Through a joint venture agreement with Weifang Investment
Corporation, established in 2007, Jofo
spent a reported $50 million on a
4.2-meter Reicofil 4 SS line capable of making 16,000 tons of
nonwovens
per year.
According to the companies, Jofo Weifang plans to ultimately
operate at least eight advanced
spunmelt lines with a total production
capacity of more than 150,000 tons, making it one of the
largest
nonwovens producers in Asia for the hygiene, medical and protective
apparel markets.
Additionally, the venture plans to set up a research
and development center for hygiene and medical
applications in Weifang
with financial support from the Chinese government.
Since 2000, the company has last operated Shandong Jofo Nonwoven
Co., a maker of spunbond,
meltblown and SMS composite nonwovens located
in the New & High Technology Industrial
Development Zone in
Dongying, Shandong Province.
In 2001, the company introduced the STP third-generation improved
twin-engined production line
from Italy and the matching Kusters hot
rolling mill from Germany. Its annual production capacitv
for spunbonded
polypropylene silk nonwoven fabrics is 7000 tons; in 2004 Shandong
Jofo
introduced Reifenhouser meltblown nonwoven fabric production line with
an annual output of
3000 tons of IT or PET. Meanwhile, it introduced
Kusters hot rolling mill compound facilities and
adopted the unique
one-step-and-a-half processing techniques so as to provide world-class
SMS
compound nonwoven fabrics to its clients.
In addition to the hygiene market, where Jofo offers lightweight,
soft spunmelt nonwovens, other
core markets include medical and
industrial protective apparel, automotives, furniture and
bedding
materials, filtraation media, agricultural and horticultural and
geotextiles.
Jofo was established in 2000 with the goal of becoming one of the
world's largest nonwovens
producers.
35. Kuraray
Tokyo, Japan
2010 nonwovens sales: $117 million
Key personnel
Takashi Nakajima, president, Kuraray Kuraflex
Plants
Okayama, Saijo, Ibaragi
Processes
Resin bonded, thermal bonded, spunlaced,m meltblown, steam jet
Brand names
Kuraflex, Microflex, Flextar
Major Markets
Coverstock, wipes, medical, household materials
Kuraray is comprised of three companies--Kuraray Kuraflex, Kuraray
Saijo and Kuraflex. Kuraflex
has products thermal bonded, spunlaced and
resin bonded nonwovens with an. annual capacity of
10,400 tons per year
as well as 1000 tons of steam jet nonwovens (under the brand name
Flextar).
Kuraray Saijo has made meltblown nonwovens with a capacity of
1800 tons per year and Kuraflex
Ibaragi has made spunlaced nonwovens
with a capacity of 3500 tons per year.
Applications for the steam jet nonwovens made by Kuraray include
medical dressing or construction
materials. These have advanced steadily
but the company has not yet made plans to expand
production in this
area. In meltblown, the company operates only at about 50% capacity
but
Kuraray is examining the face mask or filtration market as possible new
interest areas. In
spunlace, the main market is home care wipes and wet
windshield wiper material. While this
market, particularly in restaurant
settings, has suffered, Kuraray is hoping to further penetrate the
food
processing setting, where nonwovens are not commonly used in Japan.
Kuraray is also working on a technique to develop nonwovens using
meltblown technology for a new
generation of meltblown nonwovens.
While export levels have increased at Kuraray it is still low, less
than 10%, showing that the
company has faced challenges increasing its
overseas market. However, the company remains
interested in penetrating
China and Southeast Asia. In China, the company is Lipping its exports
of
windshield wipers and medical dressings, which are starting to
represent a significant amount of
sales. Other areas of interest in
China include the rapidly growing food service area.
36. Spuntech
Upper Tiberias, Israel www.spuntech.com 2010 nonwovens sales: $112
million
Key Personnel
Rob Stollar, vice president, global sales and marketing; Ron
Broshi, vice president, new product
development; John Rank, director
sales and marketing
Plants
Tiberias, Israel; Shamir, Israel; Roxboro, NC, USA Processes
Hydroentangled spunlace Major Markets
Wipes, hygiene, medical, industrial, filtration
Sales received a nice boost in 2010 for Israeli spunlace producer
Spuntech Industries. The
company, which was profiled two years ago for
the first time in Nonwovens Industry's top
companies report,
reported sales increased about 8% from $104 million to $112 million on
growth
in specialty engineered and value-added spunlace fabrics as well
as growth in the company's global
capacity.
This growth is a continuation of a trend achieved yearly since the
company opened its US plant in
2006. In addition to a one-line plant in
Roxboro, NC, Spuntech operates three lines--two in Galilee
and one in
Shamir--in Israel. It was founded in 1996 and is traded on the Tel Aviv
Stock Exchange.
"Spuntech operates three state-of-the-art production
facilities with a total of four production lines
using sophisticated
equipment with proprietary capabilities,"says John Rank, director
of sales and
marketing."The company's highly skilled engineers
and technological staff, supported by a
professional team of marketing,
logistics, quality control and management personnel, have the
ability to
mass produce a variety of unique added-value products in accordance with
stringent
quality control guidelines, while meticulously adhering to
delivery dates."
Currently, Spuntech's sales are split between North America,
South America, Europe and Asia
where it serves wet and dry wipes,
medical, technical, filtration and engineered fabrics
markets.
Describing spunlace nonwovens as the fabric of choice for most of its
customers, Rank
reports that demand remained strong for high quality
spunlace nonwovens throughout 2010.
37. Foss Manufacturing
Hampton, NH, USA www.fossmfg.com 2010 nonwovens sales: $90 million
Key Personnel
A.J. Nassar, CEO, Mike DeGrace, president
Plants
Hampton, NH
Processes
Needlepunch
Brand Names
Eco-fi, Fosscloth, Fosshield, FossFibre, Ozite, TopGuard, Kunin
Felt, Kreative Kanvas
Major Markets
Specialty syntehtic fiber (solution dyed PET, bicomponent fibers,
antimicrobial fibers, fire retardant
fibers, acrylic fibers);
automotives (headliners, package trays, floor carpets, interior trim
fabrics);
Ozicte decorative (wall coverings, marine, RV, speaker
coverings); retail (Kunin craft felt, autoaftermarket, indoor/outdoor
carpeting, construction, technical (vinyl substrate, filtration,
footwear,
healthcare and car wash)
Sales were up about 15% last year at Foss Manufacturing on improved
volumes mainly to the
automotives business which grew by 40% for the
year, according to vice president of sales David
Rowell. This growth has
continued into 2011. On the strength of new programs in automotives,
the
New Hampshire needlepunch manufacturer expects growth in this segment to
be in the 15-20%
range this year.
While much of this growth can be attributed to rebounds in the
automotives segment where builds
have increased from 10.4 million builds
in 2008 to an anticipated 12.4 million builds this year, Foss
has also
been extremely aggressive in this business during the past several
years.
"Automotives is one of the areas where you need a three- or
four- year plan because you are
developing colors and fabrics in
advance,"Rowell says."Right now we are working on 2013 colors
so
what: we are doing today won't impact our sales until the end of
next year. You have to have a long
term vision to really grow."
Most of Foss's automotive products exist in the interior of
the cars--carpeting, headliners and
trunkliners--but wheel well acoustic
material is fast becoming a core area for the company.
Within nonwovens, the other key area for Foss is in the supply of
indoor/outdoor carpeting material
for home centers and big box stores
like Home Depot, Lowes and Costo. New contracts with a
number of major
retailers are expected to boost sales in this segment as high as 10%
this year as
efforts in needling patterns and more structured carpets
have added appeal to the products.
"Another reason we are picking
up new business is we've done a great job servicing
these
retailers," Rowell says."A contract with just one major
retailer can mean big things because
they have so many locations."
Growth in these two core nonwovens markets led to the addition of a
new needlepunch line that
begaun operation in June. Representing the
second new line in three years, this new line is more
efficient and
produces higher quality fabrics with less waste than previous
generations.
The company's latest needlepunch line has been running for
about three months and Rowell says
another new line will likely be added
in the next three years."The latest line is similar to first
line
only larger,"he says."It's more efficient, the quality is
better and there is less waste."
As it ramps up the new line and begin the beginning planning stages
for another one, Foss will
focus on increasing its use of recycled
polyester bottles, which Foss processes into nonwovens and
markets under
the Ecofi brand name. This leg of the business has become so important
to Foss,
establishing an in-house operation could be an option in the
near future.
Already 60% of its total needlepunch output is made from recycled
bottles but sourcing has been
chaIlenging."The material can be hard
to come by," Rowell says. "We just don't have good
recycling
operations in this country but if we started recycling them
here, it could be a better situation for
us."
37. KNH Enterprises
Taipei, Taiwan www.knh.com.tw 2010 nonwovens sales: $90 million
Key Personnel
J.C.Tai, chairman and owner; Kirk Hwang, board member; George Wang,
general manager China
operations; Alvin Hu, wastewater business unit
officer; Y.S. Chiu, technical vice president
Plants
Taipei, Taiwan, Shanghai, China
Processes
Air through bonding, thermal bonding, meltblown, airlaid,
needlepunch, spunlace
Brand Names
Carnation brand for hygiene; Co-Fifbe for industrial specialty
products
Major Markets
Hygiene, industrial, agriculture, geotextiles
Continued movement into the spunlace market as well as expansion in
China have added up to a
sales increase in 2010, a trend that has
continued into this year, according to former president Kirk
Hwang.
The company is set to start up its third spunlace line later this
month, which will help ease supply
on its first two lines, which are
running at maximum capacity and add new patterning options and
other
benefits for the wipes market/The ability to add a pattern can make the
spunlace actually look
like a fabric, which is good for beauty
applications and even in feminine hygiene pads,"
Hwang
says."This will help us increase our sales because the pricing is
better in these areas."
KNH is also adding pulp capabilities to its spunlace operation,
which will help it become less
dependent on volatility in the rayon
market.
The medical market is also on KNH's radar with its spunlace
operation. Because of this market's
strong growth prospects in
Asia, where a lot of the garment converting takes place, Hwang sees
this
as a winning situation. Other areas of interest in medical nonwovens
include wound care and
blood filtration as well as as an operating room
pad to absorb fluids underneath a patient.
In late 2009, KNH added another factory.' in the western part
of China. Originally just a converting
operation, the facility will
house an air-through bonding line, an airlaid line and a spunlace line
by
the end of the year. Nonwovens made at this site will target the
Chinese hygiene markets while
Taiwan will continue to service the rest
of Asia and beyond, Hwang adds.
Additionally, KNH is examining other parts of China as well as
other parts of Asia, like India and
Southeast Asia where increased
demand for disposable diapers and wipes is driving
nonwovens
demand."All of this investment in China and Asia is supporting the
diaper
market/'Hwang says."They are necessary for growth and I
don't think there will be an overcapacity
situation in the
short-term."
KNH holds the advantage of being a truly global player with its
plants in Taiwan and China." We
supply our materials made in Taiwan
all over the world but we are also looking for strategic
alliances or
joint ventures in other areas," Hwang says. "We are doing this
very carefully not to
overlap what is already there."
Another key market for KNH continues to be filtration; however, the
company has spun off the
converting operation and focuses only on roll
goods production."By having a roll goods and a
converting operation
in the same company, we were basically-distancing some of the
potential
buyers who saw us as their com-petition." Hwang says.
With most of its sales in Asia and Australia, KNH's operations
are centered solely in Asia but that's
not to say a US site
isn't a possibility. The development of a proven process of
converting recycled
materials into nonwovens would open the door into
this market as the U.S government is strongly
promoting this type of
technology.
39. Rexcell.
Bengtsfors, Sweden www.rexcell.se 2010 nonwovens ales: $80 million
Key Personnel
Frank Nordberg, vice president of sales and marketing
Plants
Skapafors and Dais Lange, Sweden
Applications
Turning back to Suominen's spunlace business, the company
continues to supply the market with an
emphasis on added value products,
and these have clearly performed better compared with low
price bulk
products. For example, the Biolace range of sustainable products is
attracting constant
interest and demand in the market. In addition to
this, Suominen has a large range of value add
capabilities, such as
embossing, in its portfolio." In general we can supply a wide
variety of
alternative blends of raw materials and our pilot plant is in
constant use developing new substrates
for our customers," Jokinen
says. "Our own fiber production assets can be used not only to
develop
novel polypropylene-fibers, but also fibers based on other raw
materials than polypropylene. Our
close cooperation with customers,
catering to their needs via specialty products, is one of the
key
elements in developing Suominen's nonwovens business further."
These capabilities have helped Suominen remain strong in the
European spunlace market where the
overcapacity situation is expected to
continue as new capacitv comes onstream in Europe and
Turkey in the next
couple of months, putting further pressures on prices of standard
nonwoven
grades.
Calling this situation temporary, Jokinen said: "Spunlace is a
favored product due to its excellent
properties, and the demand for it
will further increase in the wiping segment. The spunlace market
will
keep on growing, but the Western European market will see slower growth,
when compared to
new growth regions in Eastern Europe, South America and
China."
Also benefiting the company is its long-standing customer base and
a deep cooperation and
partnership with both European and global
customers, as well as experience as a major supplier of
nonwovens to the
industry. Other recent efforts have been introducing lower grammages and
more
affordable fiber mixes to its customer base. Another strong focus
has been sustainability.
"We continuously develop our operations to reduce
environmental impacts and minimize our
products' ecological
footprint during their life cycle,"Jokinen says."We have
implemented several
sustainability programs to reduce water and energy
usage as well as raw material usage, waste
volumes and emissions. At the
same time, we are increasing the number of biodegradable
alternatives in
our Biolace product range. Our operations have been certified to the ISO
14001
standard, and all our products have an Oko-Tex Standard 100 Class
I certificate."
A good example of sustainability efforts is in Suominen's
wastewater treatment project. Since
autumn 2010, wastewater is led
through a wastewater pipeline to the regional treatment facility.
The
pipeline was built in cooperation with the neighboring municipalities
and the project is
regarded as the major environmental investment in
Suominen's province this decade.
Amidst all of these efforts, customers remain king at Suominen
Nonwovens and serving them
remains the company's first priority.
"We have improved our cost base, invested in machine
upgrades and
increased our sales and new business development efforts considerably.
All of this
has been done in order to acquire new business, and the
results of this will be visible during 2011.
Furthermore, we have
successfully used a lot of effort to increase the general competence of
our
employees."
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