01.01.05
Location: Schwarzenbach/Saale, Germany
Sales: $162 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
Carded, waddings and drylaid nonwovens, resin bonded, thermal bonded, mechanically bonded, meltblown, thermofused, needlepunched, air through bonded, spunlaced, hot melt lamination and coating
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
Fashion, home furnishing, technical nonwovens (civil engineering, automotive, filtration, horticulture), hygiene, medical, wipes (baby, cosmetic, technical, oil)
Schwarzenbach/Saale, Germany-based Sandler AG was able to grow its sales in 2004 thanks to the start-up of a new spunlace line mainly targeting the wipes market as well as increased sales to dollar-based economies. The company’s sales increased from €117 million in 2003 to €131 million in 2004. The increase follows a slight drop brought on by the reconfiguration of an existing large-scale thermal bond line into a new spunlace line, which has been back on track since the last quarter of 2003.
The company’s first venture into this technology has since been contributing nicely to the company’s sales, according to Dr. Christian Heinrich Sandler, a member of the management board. While this segment has been challenged by overcapacity as several new lines have come onstream in Europe and North America in recent years, Dr. Sandler called the situation normal. “We have seen this in other new markets, and we have responded with improved technology, new products and new functionalities,” he said. “By offering our customers differentiation, we allow them to make new products in the wipes markets.”
One result of Sandler’s product differentiation efforts is its sawatex TriLace. This wipe reportedly has good dust and dirt absorption rates and dries very quickly and is ideal in a number of household cleaning applications.
Currently wipes in general are consuming the bulk of Sandler’s spunlaced output, and this market continues to up its rate of diversification as manufacturers demand new functionality and other distinguishing features in their substrates. Dr. Sandler said this trend was evident at the INDEX exposition in April where manufacturers were promoting new structural options and printing techniques for wipes. “Every product has been looking equal so now companies are working to make their products stand out,” he added.
Another important growth area for Sandler is technical nonwovens, where key markets include filtration and acoustical products for automotives. This spring, the company announced it would invest E10 million in a new production line to bolster its technical business. The new line, which will feature proprietary nonwovens technology, is expected to be complete sometime in 2006.
“For us, technical nonwovens is a future market in which we can bring growth through innovation,” Mr. Sandler said. “What is nice about this market is that not only does it offer growth, it contains a nice combination of new applications.
A more established business for Sandler, hygiene, continues to be plagued by stiff competition and tightening margins. Despite this, Sandler creates new products for feminine hygiene applications and adult incontinence and will invest in that kind of market as well in the future.
From a geographical standpoint, Sandler continues to rely more heavily on exports out of Germany, although its sole operation base is located in Schwarzenbach. Last year, nearly 60% of its sales were conducted outside of Germany.
Despite this growth in foreign economies, Sandler is not planning to decentralize its manufacturing assets. “You have to be sure that you can sell capacity before you add it,” Dr. Sandler said. “It can take years to determine how big the market is and how ready it will be for new applications.”
And, while globalization has been a coup for Sandler, executives realize it can be a double-edged sword. “It’s good for growth but there are two sides to the coin,” Dr. Sandler said. “There are great growth opportunities but at the same time you need to be innovative and fast because the Chinese are very good at copying what you are doing.”
Also, there is always the fear that rapid growth in an emerging region can come to a screeching halt, a situation that has already occurred in Latin America. Other risk factors recognized by Sandler include dependency on foreign currency and changing trade regulations.
Therefore, in the future Sandler will continue to rely on innovation excellence that in the past has earned it industry awards. “New technology will be very important for our company in the future. This is getting much harder to do as the lifecycle of products and technologies become smaller,” said Dr. Sandler, recognizing that innovation does not come without challenges. “Technology is important but it’s not easy. We have also had our flops, ideas that have failed. It’s normal. No one is successful all of the time.”
Sales: $162 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
Carded, waddings and drylaid nonwovens, resin bonded, thermal bonded, mechanically bonded, meltblown, thermofused, needlepunched, air through bonded, spunlaced, hot melt lamination and coating
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
Fashion, home furnishing, technical nonwovens (civil engineering, automotive, filtration, horticulture), hygiene, medical, wipes (baby, cosmetic, technical, oil)
Schwarzenbach/Saale, Germany-based Sandler AG was able to grow its sales in 2004 thanks to the start-up of a new spunlace line mainly targeting the wipes market as well as increased sales to dollar-based economies. The company’s sales increased from €117 million in 2003 to €131 million in 2004. The increase follows a slight drop brought on by the reconfiguration of an existing large-scale thermal bond line into a new spunlace line, which has been back on track since the last quarter of 2003.
The company’s first venture into this technology has since been contributing nicely to the company’s sales, according to Dr. Christian Heinrich Sandler, a member of the management board. While this segment has been challenged by overcapacity as several new lines have come onstream in Europe and North America in recent years, Dr. Sandler called the situation normal. “We have seen this in other new markets, and we have responded with improved technology, new products and new functionalities,” he said. “By offering our customers differentiation, we allow them to make new products in the wipes markets.”
One result of Sandler’s product differentiation efforts is its sawatex TriLace. This wipe reportedly has good dust and dirt absorption rates and dries very quickly and is ideal in a number of household cleaning applications.
Currently wipes in general are consuming the bulk of Sandler’s spunlaced output, and this market continues to up its rate of diversification as manufacturers demand new functionality and other distinguishing features in their substrates. Dr. Sandler said this trend was evident at the INDEX exposition in April where manufacturers were promoting new structural options and printing techniques for wipes. “Every product has been looking equal so now companies are working to make their products stand out,” he added.
Another important growth area for Sandler is technical nonwovens, where key markets include filtration and acoustical products for automotives. This spring, the company announced it would invest E10 million in a new production line to bolster its technical business. The new line, which will feature proprietary nonwovens technology, is expected to be complete sometime in 2006.
“For us, technical nonwovens is a future market in which we can bring growth through innovation,” Mr. Sandler said. “What is nice about this market is that not only does it offer growth, it contains a nice combination of new applications.
A more established business for Sandler, hygiene, continues to be plagued by stiff competition and tightening margins. Despite this, Sandler creates new products for feminine hygiene applications and adult incontinence and will invest in that kind of market as well in the future.
From a geographical standpoint, Sandler continues to rely more heavily on exports out of Germany, although its sole operation base is located in Schwarzenbach. Last year, nearly 60% of its sales were conducted outside of Germany.
Despite this growth in foreign economies, Sandler is not planning to decentralize its manufacturing assets. “You have to be sure that you can sell capacity before you add it,” Dr. Sandler said. “It can take years to determine how big the market is and how ready it will be for new applications.”
And, while globalization has been a coup for Sandler, executives realize it can be a double-edged sword. “It’s good for growth but there are two sides to the coin,” Dr. Sandler said. “There are great growth opportunities but at the same time you need to be innovative and fast because the Chinese are very good at copying what you are doing.”
Also, there is always the fear that rapid growth in an emerging region can come to a screeching halt, a situation that has already occurred in Latin America. Other risk factors recognized by Sandler include dependency on foreign currency and changing trade regulations.
Therefore, in the future Sandler will continue to rely on innovation excellence that in the past has earned it industry awards. “New technology will be very important for our company in the future. This is getting much harder to do as the lifecycle of products and technologies become smaller,” said Dr. Sandler, recognizing that innovation does not come without challenges. “Technology is important but it’s not easy. We have also had our flops, ideas that have failed. It’s normal. No one is successful all of the time.”