With the continuous investment in production conversion, why is the global nonwovens market so confident?

Since the beginning of this year, due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, global trade activities have been severely impacted, but the investment in the nonwovens market has maintained a good growth state, corporate investment confidence is strong, and nonwovens manufacturers around the world are actively shifting production capacity. Invest in new production lines. According to the analysis, the direction of enterprise investment is mainly concentrated in three aspects: medical and health care, safety protection, and air cleaning.
The annual growth rate of medical non-woven materials is expected to reach 10%
The latest investment boom in the global nonwovens industry is mainly in response to the growing demand for medical protective fabrics during the new crown pneumonia epidemic. According to a recent study released by Research Dive, an authoritative forecasting agency, from 2020 to 2026, the annual growth rate of medical nonwovens is expected to reach 10%. This growth will be driven by current demand, but also by governments stockpiling these materials in response to future health crises.
The Swiss Jacob Holm Group recently announced to increase the production of personal protective equipment. The company will implement a new investment plan to expand its nonwoven production capacity by 500 million square meters per year. The project started in June and will be completed in the third quarter of 2022. Company CEO Martin Mikkelsen said that advancing this project is the company’s response to the needs of global partners to increase production capacity, provide more sustainable substrate options, and continue to remain a leader in nonwovens innovation.
Although the global health crisis has put a hold on nonwovens applications such as construction, demand for masks and medical protective clothing is at an all-time high, prompting some companies to shift their production focus. Global building materials specialist Johns Manville Group announced in May that it had converted its Spartanburg, South Carolina, plant to produce disposable medical gowns. Souvik Nandi, technical director of nonwovens for the company’s engineered products, said that the protective clothing produced this time can provide superior liquid barrier properties compared to materials used in Class 1 and Class 2 medical clothing, while also providing better comfort. Sex and suture strength.
Hollingsworth & Vose has also recently shifted its focus from traditional medical, automotive and filtration markets to materials for non-surgical gowns. H&V is already producing critical medical materials for the fight against COVID-19, including filter media for N95 respirators, ventilator filter media and materials used in surgical masks, said Jeff Crane, head of corporate divisions.
DuPont launched the “TyvekTogether” program earlier this year. The plan includes not only expanding Tyvek capacity at the Richmond, Virginia facility to ensure that medical protective apparel production increases to 15 million pieces per month, but also introducing a new Tyvek-specific fabric. According to John Richard, vice president and general manager of DuPont Safety Solutions, the new protective apparel-specific fabric optimizes material usage by adjusting fabric drape and hand, and is available in good roll form to new customers.
Investment in spunlace nonwovens is more high-end
As the existing spunlace nonwovens market continues to grow and new uses are developed, spunlace technology continues to attract new players, meaning the competitive landscape is constantly changing. The growing market demand for spunlace nonwovens is largely related to the demand for wet wipes. Due to the improvement of living standards and the improvement of self-sanitation protection awareness, more and more consumers around the world have put forward more demands on wet wipes products.
“In this environment, innovation is critical to growth, as is long-term relationships with customers and suppliers,” said Carolin Weber, Sandler’s Director of Hygiene and Wipes Sales. “To achieve these goals and continue to help customers develop products, Sandler leverages state-of-the-art technology for product innovation.”
Aralar pioneered the introduction of cellulosic substrates into flushable wipes. Although the use of cellulosic substrates is new to the spunlace nonwovens and even the wipes market, Aralar’s long-term experience with the material in the flexible packaging industry has helped them adapt it to the wipes market. The ongoing wave of public opinion and regulatory changes targeting plastics directly threatens the existing market, Javier Falcon, the company’s regional manager, said in an interview. Only a gradual shift towards sustainable substrates can the wipes industry survive and thrive. Aralar’s latest flushable material is the culmination of years of research and development, with continuously improving production techniques, fibre combinations and expertise, making flushable wipes much more usable than a few years ago.
Gerald Alligros, project manager for marketing and communications at spunlace equipment specialist ANDRITZ, said that starting with traditional baby wipes, spunlace nonwovens have gained popularity and diversification in newly launched hygiene products. Therefore, many companies are investing in the technology. Among the latest projects that ANDRITZ has received is the delivery of a new spunlace line from BCNonwovens to Barcelona, ​​Spain, which will start production in 2021.
Other hotspots for spunlace investment include China and India, where the demand for wipes and the use of face masks are increasing. China’s Nanliu recently announced plans to invest in India. Another Indian producer, Welspun, has also invested heavily in spunlace technology in recent years. “In a short period of time, we have created 6 spunlace nonwoven brands, which account for 40% of our business, tailored for various applications such as wipes, feminine hygiene, industrial, civil engineering and aerospace We are increasing our capacity for spunlace nonwovens and by 2021 we will triple our capacity,” said Pranay Sahu, Head of Strategic Business at Welspun.
While wet wipes are still the largest market for spunlace nonwovens, manufacturers have moved into markets such as hygiene and medical, hoping that diversification strategies will drive sales growth. Some manufacturers believe that more applications should be discovered than wet wipes. For example, there are many opportunities in technology applications as well as in the hygiene products market. Manufacturers can use different techniques to combine material properties to further enhance functionality.
Non-woven materials for high-efficiency filtration are favored
The need for clean air and water is driving the need for more efficient filter media in the global market. The rising demand for cleaner air and water in the global market is leading to an increase in the demand not only for filters with nonwoven media, but also for media that separate finer particles from air and drinking water Demand is also rising. Two factors make filtration one of the fastest growing application markets for nonwovens.
Filtration is the second-largest end-use market for durable nonwovens and the third-largest market for nonwovens overall, according to a Smithers report. Last year, filter media accounted for 9.9% of global nonwoven sales, and this market continues to grow at a relatively high rate. For filter media manufacturers, the challenge is to develop a product that removes higher particle counts from the air without compromising the mechanical efficiency that drives up the cost of heating and cooling homes. “We’re seeing continued growth in the filtration market,” said Scott Tennison, director of innovation at Kimberly-Clark Filtration. “A lot of it has to do with educating consumers about the importance of air quality in their homes. With increased awareness and understanding of how viruses and bacteria spread, they will want the air to be as clean as possible.”
Seeing that filtration-related applications are growing, the Ahlstrom-Munksjo Group continues to invest in enhanced filtration materials. The Ahlstrom-Munksjo Group has recently completed the initial analysis and design phase of its ongoing project to enhance its manufacturing platform for high performance filtration and energy storage applications. To meet growing customer demand, the company has now decided to proceed with the second phase of the project, which includes a significant expansion of its fiberglass media capacity and further increases in industrial filtration product capacity. Plans for the second phase include expanding industrial filtration product capacity in Melmedy, Belgium; increasing glass fiber media capacity at Fabriano, Italy; building a new production line in Turin, Italy; Transportation Filtration Market Expands Product Range. Noora Blasi, company marketing and communications manager, said the Ahlstrom-Munksjo Group sees further growth opportunities in the industrial filtration products market. “Increasing demand for pure, pollution-free air and liquids in the industrial sector is a key growth factor,” she said. “Specific segments supported by sustainable market drivers are our target markets.”
According to Brian Little, president of nonwovens manufacturer Bondex, innovative technologies in the filtration industry are maturing as global demands continue to change. “For a long time, industrial filtration was limited to limited material solutions, but with the latest technological developments, such as hydroentangled filter felts, we are seeing customers rethink their approach to filtration needs,” he said. In terms of product development, Bondex has increased production of multiple fiber types and filter felts over the past few months. Little said they are actively considering future investments to meet various customer needs in different markets.
Since the beginning of this year, due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, global trade activities have been severely impacted, but the investment in the nonwovens market has maintained a good growth state, corporate investment confidence is strong, and nonwovens manufacturers around the world are actively shifting production capacity. Invest in new production lines.


Post time: Apr-26-2022