01.01.04
Location: Schwarzenbach/Saale, Germany
Sales: $132 MILLION
Description: Key Personnel
Dipl. Kfm. Christian Heinrich Sandler, Dr. Christian Heinrich Sandler, Dieter Magiera, Members of the management Board
Plant
Schwarzenbach/Saale, Germany
ISO Status
ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001 certified
Processes
Drylaid, resin bonded, thermal bonded, mechanically bonded, meltblown, parallel and crosslapped carded, air through bonded, spunlaced, lamination
Brand Names
sawafill, sawabond, sawaloom, sawavlies, sawaloft, sawaflor, sawatex, sawascreen, sawagrow, sandler sports, sawacomp, sawaflock, sawaform, sawalux, sawaflex, sawasoft, sawasorb, sandler-fibercomfort, sandler-fiberskin, Purina, sandler-unico, Thincontinent, sawadur, sawadry
Major Markets
Apparel, upholstery, technical nonwovens, civil engineering, hygiene, medical, wipes, filtration, automotive
A reconfiguration of a large thermal bonding line led to a temporary decline in sales for Sandler AG. The Schwarzenbach/Saale, Germany-based company reported its sales decreased to E117 million compared to E126 million in 2003 after this highly efficient thermal bond line was shut down early in the year. Sandler expects to recoup this decrease and grow sales this year as the line comes onstream and it begins to benefit from a recent entry into the spunlace market.
The company’s spunlace line came onstream in mid 2003. While it is too soon for executives to comment on the results of this new business, they would confirm that demand is still trending upward for these types of nonwovens which are mainly used for a variety of cleaning applications. Particularly, wet wipes are seeing a global growth rate of at least 20% annually.
Sandler’s tradition of innovation has been applied to this new business. The company has combined its knowledge of carded technology with spunlaced technology to develop sawatex TriLace. This wipe reportedly has a good dust and dirt absorption rate and dries very fast. It is also distinguished by good liquid absorption and storage capacity. “Particularly for household applications, this ‘Daily Wipe’ is a new generation of cleaning wipes,” said Dr. Christian Heinrich Sandler, member of the management board. “The apparently contradictory characteristics (dust and liquid absorption) of the daily wipe make it possible to use one wipe for all daily work.”
While the end use markets for spunlaced nonwovens, particularly wipes, continue to grow, excessive investment in the technology could result in overcapacity. Therefore, while many of its key European competitors have announced plans to enter the U.S., Sandler has no plans to set up a facility outside of Germany.
Despite its centralized production, Sandler’s export levels continue to grow with 60% of last year’s sales generated beyond Germany. Key markets include Europe, Japan and the Americas for Sandler, which has made no secret of the importance foreign markets have on its secure future.
Diversified geography is not the only key to Sandler’s success. The company also operates a technologically diverse business. Beyond the aforementioned thermal bonded and spunlaced business, Sandler also produces drylaid, resin bonded, mechanically bonded, parallel and crosslapped carded, needlepunched, laminated and meltblown nonwovens. These technologies target the apparel, upholstery, technical, civil engineering, hygiene, medical filtration and automotives businesses.
Recently making headlines has been Sandler’s nonwovens production for the automotives market. As the automotives industry demands less weight (to reduce energy costs) and more recyclable materials (as mandated by EU legislation), Sandler has predicted great opportunity for light-weight nonwoven fabrics. In fact, Sandler is so certain of the future importance of automotives that it has pledged to open up a production facility dedicated solely to this segment within the next five years. Until then, research and development efforts have focused on how highly efficient fiber absorbers such as Sandler’s own sawasorb plus and sawasorb shadow can be used in door panels, dash board insulators or pillars.
Other key interests within automotives include adapting some types of nonwovens to the needs of different interior parts and calculating other nonwovens styles to meet different acoustical needs of vehicles.
Beyond automotives, another technical market gaining momentum is filtration where Sandler is currently able to produce filter nonwovens for all HVAC applications in filter classes EU3 to EU10.
Turning away from technical, hygiene, a market entered by Sandler 15 years ago, has emerged as one of its most important. Down the road, the company will continue to expand its activities in this market—but executives would not be specific about these plans. Meanwhile, a similar market, medical nonwovens, while smaller than hygiene, is also important.
“Diversification takes place in nearly each area we operate in,” Dr. Sandler explained. “We are very thoroughly observing and thinking about in which other markets nonwovens can be used in the future so that we can pick up trends and invest money for developments.”
Sales: $132 MILLION
Description: Key Personnel
Dipl. Kfm. Christian Heinrich Sandler, Dr. Christian Heinrich Sandler, Dieter Magiera, Members of the management Board
Plant
Schwarzenbach/Saale, Germany
ISO Status
ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001 certified
Processes
Drylaid, resin bonded, thermal bonded, mechanically bonded, meltblown, parallel and crosslapped carded, air through bonded, spunlaced, lamination
Brand Names
sawafill, sawabond, sawaloom, sawavlies, sawaloft, sawaflor, sawatex, sawascreen, sawagrow, sandler sports, sawacomp, sawaflock, sawaform, sawalux, sawaflex, sawasoft, sawasorb, sandler-fibercomfort, sandler-fiberskin, Purina, sandler-unico, Thincontinent, sawadur, sawadry
Major Markets
Apparel, upholstery, technical nonwovens, civil engineering, hygiene, medical, wipes, filtration, automotive
A reconfiguration of a large thermal bonding line led to a temporary decline in sales for Sandler AG. The Schwarzenbach/Saale, Germany-based company reported its sales decreased to E117 million compared to E126 million in 2003 after this highly efficient thermal bond line was shut down early in the year. Sandler expects to recoup this decrease and grow sales this year as the line comes onstream and it begins to benefit from a recent entry into the spunlace market.
The company’s spunlace line came onstream in mid 2003. While it is too soon for executives to comment on the results of this new business, they would confirm that demand is still trending upward for these types of nonwovens which are mainly used for a variety of cleaning applications. Particularly, wet wipes are seeing a global growth rate of at least 20% annually.
Sandler’s tradition of innovation has been applied to this new business. The company has combined its knowledge of carded technology with spunlaced technology to develop sawatex TriLace. This wipe reportedly has a good dust and dirt absorption rate and dries very fast. It is also distinguished by good liquid absorption and storage capacity. “Particularly for household applications, this ‘Daily Wipe’ is a new generation of cleaning wipes,” said Dr. Christian Heinrich Sandler, member of the management board. “The apparently contradictory characteristics (dust and liquid absorption) of the daily wipe make it possible to use one wipe for all daily work.”
While the end use markets for spunlaced nonwovens, particularly wipes, continue to grow, excessive investment in the technology could result in overcapacity. Therefore, while many of its key European competitors have announced plans to enter the U.S., Sandler has no plans to set up a facility outside of Germany.
Despite its centralized production, Sandler’s export levels continue to grow with 60% of last year’s sales generated beyond Germany. Key markets include Europe, Japan and the Americas for Sandler, which has made no secret of the importance foreign markets have on its secure future.
Diversified geography is not the only key to Sandler’s success. The company also operates a technologically diverse business. Beyond the aforementioned thermal bonded and spunlaced business, Sandler also produces drylaid, resin bonded, mechanically bonded, parallel and crosslapped carded, needlepunched, laminated and meltblown nonwovens. These technologies target the apparel, upholstery, technical, civil engineering, hygiene, medical filtration and automotives businesses.
Recently making headlines has been Sandler’s nonwovens production for the automotives market. As the automotives industry demands less weight (to reduce energy costs) and more recyclable materials (as mandated by EU legislation), Sandler has predicted great opportunity for light-weight nonwoven fabrics. In fact, Sandler is so certain of the future importance of automotives that it has pledged to open up a production facility dedicated solely to this segment within the next five years. Until then, research and development efforts have focused on how highly efficient fiber absorbers such as Sandler’s own sawasorb plus and sawasorb shadow can be used in door panels, dash board insulators or pillars.
Other key interests within automotives include adapting some types of nonwovens to the needs of different interior parts and calculating other nonwovens styles to meet different acoustical needs of vehicles.
Beyond automotives, another technical market gaining momentum is filtration where Sandler is currently able to produce filter nonwovens for all HVAC applications in filter classes EU3 to EU10.
Turning away from technical, hygiene, a market entered by Sandler 15 years ago, has emerged as one of its most important. Down the road, the company will continue to expand its activities in this market—but executives would not be specific about these plans. Meanwhile, a similar market, medical nonwovens, while smaller than hygiene, is also important.
“Diversification takes place in nearly each area we operate in,” Dr. Sandler explained. “We are very thoroughly observing and thinking about in which other markets nonwovens can be used in the future so that we can pick up trends and invest money for developments.”