01.01.08
Location: MANCHESTER, CT
Sales: $135 million
Description: Key Personnel
W. Leslie Duffy, chairman of the board; Dale Barnhart, president and CEO; Thomas Smith, vice president, CFO and treasurer; Mona Estey, vice president—human resources; Mary Tremblay, vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary
Plants
Rochester, NH; Saint Rivalain, France; Winston-Salem, NC; Hamptonville, NC; St. Johnsbury, VT; Green Island, NY; Ossipee, NH; Meinerzhagen, Germany; Saint-Nazaire, France
Major Markets
Thermal and acoustical shields and insulation, high-efficiency air and liquid filtration media, bioprocessing and specialty blood and cell therapy products
Brand Names
Lytherm, Manniglas, Manniweb, Affinity, ZeroClearance, dBLyte, LydAir, LydAir ElementsMG, Actipure, AcuPore, AMS, CRS Wrap, Cryotherm, dBCore, LyPore, LyPoreMG, LyPore Unity, BioPak
Under the leadership of its new president and CEO Dale Barnhart, Manchester, CT-based Lydall has reorganized its internal structure into two key reportable sectors—Thermal/Acoustical and Performance Materials. In 2007, the company’s overall sales were $339 million, a 4% increase over the prior year, of which 32% were nonwoven roll goods.
Following its first quarter 2008 restructuring efforts, Lydall’s Thermal/Acoustical segment consists of the company’s automotive businesses, while the Performance Materials segment makes up the filtration businesses and the industrial thermal insulation business, formerly the passive thermal business and specialty products. All other businesses are aggregated in Other Products and Services (OPS), which comprises the company’s vital fluids business, Affinity temperature control equipment business, formerly the active thermal business, and the transport, distribution and warehousing services felts that are going to be needed for the surge of new power plants and other high temperature applications for filtration. The new line is Southern Felt’s seventh, adding 375,000 linear yards of needlepunch felt for the filtration market monthly.
“The plant expansion and the latest filter felt production line have enabled Southern Felt to satisfy increased volume demands and to manufacture more efficiently as individual lines can be dedicated to individual products with consequent gains in manufacturing efficiency and process waste reduction,” Mr. Grover explained.
Next on Southern Felt’s agenda is the installation of a new chemical impregnation line—a $2 million investment—as well as another new filter felt line being planned for 2010. The new filter line will require a plant expansion at Southern Felt’s South Caroline facility to not only house the equipment but to also increase warehousing capabilities.
The South Caroina site has become the sole North American facility for Andrew Industries after the company down its Slater Felt facility in Missouri and relocated this business to the Southern Felt site. The closure follows the shut down of Andrew divisions Eastern Felt and Northern Felt, in Rhode Island and Canada, respectively, during the past five years. These operations also were consolidated into Southern Felt.
Three years ago, Andrew expanded into China to chase baghouse filter applications in this region’s growing power plant market, as well as other filtration applications in this part of the world. The original high speed needlefelt line located in Quinpu, Shanghai is already running around the clock at full capacity and a second line is set to come onstream before year’s end. Mr. Grover described this line as “the most modern, highly productive and fully automated filter felt line in the world.”
Also a part of its operations is a U.K. subsidiary, where two business units, Andrew Textile Industies and Webron Marling, were consolidated in 2006 to form one division—Andrew Webron Industries. “Consolidation has been a great help to this business, which is now constrained by its manufacturing volume capacity following significant increase in demand for its products because of better sales and marketing,” said Mr. Grover, adding that additional manufacturing capacity is being planned to resolve this situation.
Beyond filtration, Andrew Industries does have some focus but executives do not anticipate it will become more important to the company because filtration remains its core and primary interest. Andrew’s subsidiary Bondex, Inc. in the U.S. manufactures lightweight calendered nonwovens between 20 and 100 grams per square meter. It anticipates significant growth outside the filtration sector but it is too soon to be more specific about these opportunities at this time.
Meanwhile, outside of the nonwovens operation, Andrew’s Business Machine Products (BMP) Division continues to be very successful. The use of needlepunch nonwovens in the BMP Division’s traditional markets has declined somewhat but deliberate attempts to enter new markets that use needlepunch nonwovens has been successful especially in the home appliance sector, according to Mr. Grover.
Looking forward, Mr. Grover is confident that growth will continue because of what his company has to offer as well as the resources it has developed to fuel its business. Other factors that will play a role will be a growing presence in India and in the southern hemisphere as well as maintaining significant investment in all areas of product development.
“Right now we are having a deliberate period of consolidation so as not to put too much strain on our financial and managerial resources and in anticipation that global economies have to reflect some caution over the immediate future,” he added.
Sales: $135 million
Description: Key Personnel
W. Leslie Duffy, chairman of the board; Dale Barnhart, president and CEO; Thomas Smith, vice president, CFO and treasurer; Mona Estey, vice president—human resources; Mary Tremblay, vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary
Plants
Rochester, NH; Saint Rivalain, France; Winston-Salem, NC; Hamptonville, NC; St. Johnsbury, VT; Green Island, NY; Ossipee, NH; Meinerzhagen, Germany; Saint-Nazaire, France
Major Markets
Thermal and acoustical shields and insulation, high-efficiency air and liquid filtration media, bioprocessing and specialty blood and cell therapy products
Brand Names
Lytherm, Manniglas, Manniweb, Affinity, ZeroClearance, dBLyte, LydAir, LydAir ElementsMG, Actipure, AcuPore, AMS, CRS Wrap, Cryotherm, dBCore, LyPore, LyPoreMG, LyPore Unity, BioPak
Under the leadership of its new president and CEO Dale Barnhart, Manchester, CT-based Lydall has reorganized its internal structure into two key reportable sectors—Thermal/Acoustical and Performance Materials. In 2007, the company’s overall sales were $339 million, a 4% increase over the prior year, of which 32% were nonwoven roll goods.
Following its first quarter 2008 restructuring efforts, Lydall’s Thermal/Acoustical segment consists of the company’s automotive businesses, while the Performance Materials segment makes up the filtration businesses and the industrial thermal insulation business, formerly the passive thermal business and specialty products. All other businesses are aggregated in Other Products and Services (OPS), which comprises the company’s vital fluids business, Affinity temperature control equipment business, formerly the active thermal business, and the transport, distribution and warehousing services felts that are going to be needed for the surge of new power plants and other high temperature applications for filtration. The new line is Southern Felt’s seventh, adding 375,000 linear yards of needlepunch felt for the filtration market monthly.
“The plant expansion and the latest filter felt production line have enabled Southern Felt to satisfy increased volume demands and to manufacture more efficiently as individual lines can be dedicated to individual products with consequent gains in manufacturing efficiency and process waste reduction,” Mr. Grover explained.
Next on Southern Felt’s agenda is the installation of a new chemical impregnation line—a $2 million investment—as well as another new filter felt line being planned for 2010. The new filter line will require a plant expansion at Southern Felt’s South Caroline facility to not only house the equipment but to also increase warehousing capabilities.
The South Caroina site has become the sole North American facility for Andrew Industries after the company down its Slater Felt facility in Missouri and relocated this business to the Southern Felt site. The closure follows the shut down of Andrew divisions Eastern Felt and Northern Felt, in Rhode Island and Canada, respectively, during the past five years. These operations also were consolidated into Southern Felt.
Three years ago, Andrew expanded into China to chase baghouse filter applications in this region’s growing power plant market, as well as other filtration applications in this part of the world. The original high speed needlefelt line located in Quinpu, Shanghai is already running around the clock at full capacity and a second line is set to come onstream before year’s end. Mr. Grover described this line as “the most modern, highly productive and fully automated filter felt line in the world.”
Also a part of its operations is a U.K. subsidiary, where two business units, Andrew Textile Industies and Webron Marling, were consolidated in 2006 to form one division—Andrew Webron Industries. “Consolidation has been a great help to this business, which is now constrained by its manufacturing volume capacity following significant increase in demand for its products because of better sales and marketing,” said Mr. Grover, adding that additional manufacturing capacity is being planned to resolve this situation.
Beyond filtration, Andrew Industries does have some focus but executives do not anticipate it will become more important to the company because filtration remains its core and primary interest. Andrew’s subsidiary Bondex, Inc. in the U.S. manufactures lightweight calendered nonwovens between 20 and 100 grams per square meter. It anticipates significant growth outside the filtration sector but it is too soon to be more specific about these opportunities at this time.
Meanwhile, outside of the nonwovens operation, Andrew’s Business Machine Products (BMP) Division continues to be very successful. The use of needlepunch nonwovens in the BMP Division’s traditional markets has declined somewhat but deliberate attempts to enter new markets that use needlepunch nonwovens has been successful especially in the home appliance sector, according to Mr. Grover.
Looking forward, Mr. Grover is confident that growth will continue because of what his company has to offer as well as the resources it has developed to fuel its business. Other factors that will play a role will be a growing presence in India and in the southern hemisphere as well as maintaining significant investment in all areas of product development.
“Right now we are having a deliberate period of consolidation so as not to put too much strain on our financial and managerial resources and in anticipation that global economies have to reflect some caution over the immediate future,” he added.