01.01.03
Location: Aalborg Ost, Denmark
Sales: $89 million
Description: Key Personnel
Knud Waede Hansen, managing director; Knud Erik Justesen, deputy managing director; Jesper Bech Masen, general manager, needlepunch division; Mikael Staal Axelsen, general manager, personal care division; Etienne Ficht, business development manager
Plants
Two in Aalborg; one in Malaysia
ISO Status
ISO 9001 certified, 1991; DES ISO 14001 environmental certification, 2001
Processes
Drylaid, needlepunched, spunbond/meltblown
Brand Names
Fibertex, Matchback, Comfortback, Flexback, Two-in-One, Formtex, Superflor, Alupor
Major Markets
Industrial textiles—primary and secondary carpet backings, automotive, furniture and bedding; technical textiles—building and construction, horticulture; hygiene; protective clothing; packaging.
The ability to offer products with clear advantages of the competition has been the backbone of success for Fibertex, Aalborg Ost, Denmark. Not only has the company been able to build a successful spunmelt business during the past five years, it has also been able to continue its growth levels despite economic and pricing pressures in the industry.
In 2002, sales rose 7% to $89 million million while before-tax profit rose 11%. This growth has continued into 2003 and executives expect this to be a better year than last year.
Fibertex first entered the spunmelt market in 1998 when it decided to diversify from its core business of needlepunched nonwovens. Two years later, this side of the business received a boost when a second spunmelt line was added in Aalborg. In 2002, spunbond growth led to the division’s sales equaling needlepunch sales. In 2003, the size of the spunbond business is expected to dominate Fibertex’s overall sales at its Malaysian operation, featuring a multibeam spunmelt line, which will come onstream during the remainder of this year.
Expected to add $25 million per year to Fibertex’s annual sales, the Malaysian plant was announced in April 2002 and was completed ahead of schedule in June 2003. Output from the facility—Fibertex’s first outside of Denmark—will boost Asian sales, now representing 10% of overall business, while supplementing shipments to existing European and American customers.
The three southeast Asian countries most ripe for growth in Fibertex executives’ opinion are Malaysia, Japan and Thailand. The use of hygiene products in these three countries will continue to rise, quite a change from the mature markets of Europe, which represent 80% of current sales. Growth of diaper and feminine hygiene product usage has been stagnant there in recent years.
“In Europe, growth has been caused by the increased amounts of nonwovens used per diaper—not by an actual rise in the number of diapers being produced,” explained managing director Knud Waede Hansen. “In Southeast Asia, there is a lot of room for growth in penetration.”
Fibertex has been able to achieve solid growth in the hygiene segment, where it mainly supplies spunmelt topsheets for baby diapers and feminine hygiene products, because of its ability to offer advantages in its products. In 1998, when it first entered the spunmelt market, Fibertex was the only European-based manufacturer with its type of machine configuration, allowing it to exclusively make lightweight products coveted by the hygiene market.
In more recent years, Fibertex has developed an extremely soft product line of spunmelt products that are ideal for the hygiene segments. Additionally, stretchable nonwovens technology, both in spunmelt and needlepunch, has provided advantages in hygiene as well as on the industrial portion of the business.
Speaking of the industrial side of Fibertex’s business, the company continues to defend its status as one of Europe’s most important needlepunch producers. After working on ramping up its spunmelt and hygiene business during the last five years, the company has now returned its focus to the needlepunch arena. The fruits of this were born in mid-August when a new needlepunch line was brought onstream in Aalborg. The new line, representing a DKK60 million investment, not only adds capacity but also improves the quality of its product offerings.
“We still have a strong position in needlepunch, particularly in the European furniture and bedding markets,” Mr. Hansen explained. “It’s important to have several markets to rely on so if one loses its stability, another can make up for it.”
Other markets for Fibertex’s needlepunch output are carpet backings, automotives, building and construction and horticulture.
With the Malaysian facility and the new needlepunch line just coming onstream, expansion plans are currently not a big push. Still, executives realize the importance of moving with the market for future success. For instance, the possibility of diversifying into a new technology, similar to how Fibertex approached spunmelt in the late 1990s, has not been ruled out. To make this move, Fibertex would have to have a competitive advantage in its product line to make it worthwhile.
For now, however, the Malaysian business and its impact on Fibertex’s Asian business, are taking center stage. “We have a goal to be a global company,” Mr. Hansen explained. “Since we are a small company, we have to achieve this with small, controlled steps.”
Sales: $89 million
Description: Key Personnel
Knud Waede Hansen, managing director; Knud Erik Justesen, deputy managing director; Jesper Bech Masen, general manager, needlepunch division; Mikael Staal Axelsen, general manager, personal care division; Etienne Ficht, business development manager
Plants
Two in Aalborg; one in Malaysia
ISO Status
ISO 9001 certified, 1991; DES ISO 14001 environmental certification, 2001
Processes
Drylaid, needlepunched, spunbond/meltblown
Brand Names
Fibertex, Matchback, Comfortback, Flexback, Two-in-One, Formtex, Superflor, Alupor
Major Markets
Industrial textiles—primary and secondary carpet backings, automotive, furniture and bedding; technical textiles—building and construction, horticulture; hygiene; protective clothing; packaging.
The ability to offer products with clear advantages of the competition has been the backbone of success for Fibertex, Aalborg Ost, Denmark. Not only has the company been able to build a successful spunmelt business during the past five years, it has also been able to continue its growth levels despite economic and pricing pressures in the industry.
In 2002, sales rose 7% to $89 million million while before-tax profit rose 11%. This growth has continued into 2003 and executives expect this to be a better year than last year.
Fibertex first entered the spunmelt market in 1998 when it decided to diversify from its core business of needlepunched nonwovens. Two years later, this side of the business received a boost when a second spunmelt line was added in Aalborg. In 2002, spunbond growth led to the division’s sales equaling needlepunch sales. In 2003, the size of the spunbond business is expected to dominate Fibertex’s overall sales at its Malaysian operation, featuring a multibeam spunmelt line, which will come onstream during the remainder of this year.
Expected to add $25 million per year to Fibertex’s annual sales, the Malaysian plant was announced in April 2002 and was completed ahead of schedule in June 2003. Output from the facility—Fibertex’s first outside of Denmark—will boost Asian sales, now representing 10% of overall business, while supplementing shipments to existing European and American customers.
The three southeast Asian countries most ripe for growth in Fibertex executives’ opinion are Malaysia, Japan and Thailand. The use of hygiene products in these three countries will continue to rise, quite a change from the mature markets of Europe, which represent 80% of current sales. Growth of diaper and feminine hygiene product usage has been stagnant there in recent years.
“In Europe, growth has been caused by the increased amounts of nonwovens used per diaper—not by an actual rise in the number of diapers being produced,” explained managing director Knud Waede Hansen. “In Southeast Asia, there is a lot of room for growth in penetration.”
Fibertex has been able to achieve solid growth in the hygiene segment, where it mainly supplies spunmelt topsheets for baby diapers and feminine hygiene products, because of its ability to offer advantages in its products. In 1998, when it first entered the spunmelt market, Fibertex was the only European-based manufacturer with its type of machine configuration, allowing it to exclusively make lightweight products coveted by the hygiene market.
In more recent years, Fibertex has developed an extremely soft product line of spunmelt products that are ideal for the hygiene segments. Additionally, stretchable nonwovens technology, both in spunmelt and needlepunch, has provided advantages in hygiene as well as on the industrial portion of the business.
Speaking of the industrial side of Fibertex’s business, the company continues to defend its status as one of Europe’s most important needlepunch producers. After working on ramping up its spunmelt and hygiene business during the last five years, the company has now returned its focus to the needlepunch arena. The fruits of this were born in mid-August when a new needlepunch line was brought onstream in Aalborg. The new line, representing a DKK60 million investment, not only adds capacity but also improves the quality of its product offerings.
“We still have a strong position in needlepunch, particularly in the European furniture and bedding markets,” Mr. Hansen explained. “It’s important to have several markets to rely on so if one loses its stability, another can make up for it.”
Other markets for Fibertex’s needlepunch output are carpet backings, automotives, building and construction and horticulture.
With the Malaysian facility and the new needlepunch line just coming onstream, expansion plans are currently not a big push. Still, executives realize the importance of moving with the market for future success. For instance, the possibility of diversifying into a new technology, similar to how Fibertex approached spunmelt in the late 1990s, has not been ruled out. To make this move, Fibertex would have to have a competitive advantage in its product line to make it worthwhile.
For now, however, the Malaysian business and its impact on Fibertex’s Asian business, are taking center stage. “We have a goal to be a global company,” Mr. Hansen explained. “Since we are a small company, we have to achieve this with small, controlled steps.”