The rapid increase in demand in the developing markets also increases the nonwoven investments in these regions. According to investigation conducted by Freedonia, the leading research company that increases its reliability by publishing more than 100 scientific studies annually, the rising demands of the developing companies shape the nonwoven investments. The companies started to make new investments seeing the increasing demand in Asia, Australia, Middle East, North Africa, South America and in South Africa. They determined new facilites and ways as their targets.
According to the interesting investigation results gathered from Freedonia Gorup, even Asia Pacific Region alone will grow 9,6 percent in nonwoven fabrics each year between 2010-2015. China will continue its leadership by meeting almost half of the extra demands across the world.
China is the Most Popular Choice
Avgol, the Israel based spunbond nonwovens producer engaged in a continuous production and sales, has been one of the top suppliers of nonwoven products for the hygiene sector since 1988 and continuing its investments in China, North America and Russia. The company has opened its second facility and a third one is onder construction. When all the facilities of the company that is operating on 5 continents are completed, its total production capacity in China will reach 40,000 tons per year.
On the other hand, First Quality Nonwoven Inc was established in 1996 in order to produce high quality spunmelt nonwovens. The spunmelt nonwovens manufacturer, which has 2 plants in Pennsylvania, will open its new plant in Wuxi, China. The company that will include 2 machines in its facility, provides service to the markets of hygiene, health, disposable wipes, industry and filtration.
Mitsui Chemicals, a Japan-based nonwovens producer that has facilities in Japan and Thailand, is preparing to establish a new facility in Tianjin, China for the production of disposable nonwoven products and diapers. The facility is expected to begin operations in September 2013.
Andrew Industries, a UK-based manufacturer that stands out with its baghouse filters, has purchased the production plant of the Finnish company Ahlstrom in Wuxi. Besides, the company is planning to install a needlepunch line at the facility for the production of PTFE felts. Established in 1894, Andrew Industries entered the sector by supplying ironing machines, woven cloths and bag products for the British market. The company that is planning to open a bag fabricating and distribution facility in 2011 in India, intends to perform nonwoven production in its facilities within 2 years.
Investments Increases in the South Asia
Hollingsworth & Vose, a USA-based supplier of engineered papers and nonwovens, has started initiatives together with the Nath Group to build a new plant in Maharashtra, India. Hollingsworth & Vose continues to establish R&D and pilot production facilities by producing new generation materials. The company is engaged in production in the segments such as high efficient air and fluid filtration, battery separators, gasket materials, special and industrial nonwovens. Established in 1843, H&V has been supplying nonwovens, industrial and technical papers for the sector for 150 years.
The South Korea based Toray Advanced Materials, which is the subsidiary of Toray Industries, gained a more expanded structure in March 2011. The company that has opened a facility with a production capacity of 20,000 tons in Indonesia as its second line, aims to have a voice in the region by opening a third line in June 2012-2013. The company that has a broad structure with its 38,740 employees, has a rising position in the production of baby diapers with its investments in China and Indonesia.
The Japan based Asahi Kasei, which has an office also in Turkey, started to build a new line in Thailand in partnership with SAHA Group. The company that has a significant share in the market of nonwoven disposable products, supplies products for 9 different segments. This investment in Thailand, is the company’s first investment outside of Japan. With this investment, the company aims to reduce the costs and increase profitability
The Denmark based Fibertex, which manufactures nonwovens for several fields with its broad range of products, completed its third spunmelt line in Malaysia. With this investment, completed in 2012, personal care products are expected to stand out. Fibertex has also expanded its investments in the Southern Hemisphere for the nonwovens used in geotextiles and the South American automotive sector. Fibertex, which has a global structure with its production facilities in Aalborg, Denmark, Czech Republic, France and the South Africa, has been producing nonwovens for the markets all over the world since it was established in 1968
Pegas, the Spunmelt nonwoven manufacturer operating in the Czech Republic, has announced its first foreign investment by revealing plans to build a manufacturing site in Egypt in order to meet the increasing demand in the Far East and North Africa. Pegas, which aims to build two nonwovens facilities in Egypt in order to produce 20,000 tons of material, intends to open its first plant in 2013 at the latest. The company aslo expects to complete the second plant during 2015-16.
