01.01.10
Location: London, U.K.
Sales: $800 million
Description: Key Personnel
Daniel Dayan, CEO; Dan Abrams, CFO; Ian Barnes, president, Consumer Fabrics; Derek Chan, president, Asia; John Juric, president, Americas Industrial division; Paul Glover, managing director, Terram; Hans Jörg Oberberg, president, European Industrial division
Plants
Green Bay, WI; Old Hickory, TN; Simpsonville, SC; Tianjin, China; Biesheim, France; Aschersleben, Germany; Königswinter, Germany; Berlin, Germany; Trezzano Rosa, Italy; Pontypool, U.K.; Norrköping, Sweden; Port Elizabeth, South Africa (JV); Peine, Germany;Terno d’Isola, Italy; Washougal, WA (JV); Queretaro, Mexico (JV); Gravatai, Brazil (JV)
Processes
Chemical bonded, thermal bonded, meltblown, bicomponent spunbond, airlaid, air through bonded, spunbond and composites
Major Markets
Construction and ground contact, consumer care, filtration, baby and adult diapers, hygiene, medical and protective markets, industrial specialties, femcare
Sales decreased significantly for British nonwovens producer Fiberweb on lower average raw material prices as well as the incorporation of two of its major facilities into its joint venture with Brazilian roll goods producer Fitesa. The company's 2009 reported sales were $692 million (£454 million) but by adding its half stake in the FitesaFiberweb joint venture, sales for the period were more like $800 million, according to CEO Daniel Dayan.
And, despite raw material price challenges and a difficult global economy, Fiberweb was able to increase its profits 23% and its earnings per share 30%, continuing a trend that has been consistent during the last two-and-a-half years for the company. “Fibeweb has benefitted from improved asset and labor productivity as well as from the benefit of recent major investments in meltblown capacity, polyester recycling capacity as well as two recent Reicofil 4 investments in Europe,” Mr. Dayan explained.
Since 2006, Fiberweb has worked to increase its productivity. This has meant line closures in the U.S. and Europe, the divestment of underperforming businesses and investment in higher speed, more efficient lines. These efforts have decreased sales somewhat and lessened the size of the company’s global workforce but, at the same time, profits have increased significantly. Investment in research and development has been significantly increased, with additional development personnel in Europe, Asia and North America. A new R&D center and major pilot line facility is currently under construction at Old Hickory, TN and is expected to be operational in early 2011.
Another part of its new business model is focusing on business areas with competitive advantages, exiting areas where it was not the technology or commercial leader and creating new partnerships in which it can showcase its expertise in nonwovens technology. The first such partnership is the aforementioned FitesaFiberweb agreement, established last year, which combined Fiberweb’s spunmelt operations in Washington and Mexico with Fitesa’s assets in Brazil as well as a planned expansion in Simpsonville, SC. Already, the venture’s sales are about $200 million, a number that is expected to jump significantly when the first new North American line comes onstream during the first quarter of 2011.
Output from this new line, a bicomponent Reicofil 4 line, will be located at the joint venture’s headquarters in Simpsonville, SC, where it will largely serve the U.S. market which is currently relying heavily on imports, according to Mr. Dayan. Looking ahead, a second Reicofil 4 line, although not yet finalized, is likely to be constructed at the site. “We certainly expect to make further investments and we are exploring a number of options.”
Even before the first line is complete, the joint venture, which gave Fiberweb access to Fitesa’s Brazilian capacity, creating a much improved supply network is performing well, Mr. Dayan added. “The integration of the two businesses is going very well. It’s been much faster than expected.”
As the agreement with Fitesa is helping Fiberweb target markets within the Americas, the company is exploring a somewhat similar arrangement in Asia. In March, the company said it was working with Japanese nonwovens producer Chisso to explore the possibility of establishing a joint venture company to produce spunmelt nonwovens in China using the latest generation of spunmelt technology largely for the Asian hygiene market. Unlike the agreement with Fitesa, this partnership would only involve a brand new facility containing a specialty spunmelt line, Mr. Dayan explained. “This would be a good way to enter the Chinese spunbond market that limits risk,” he said, noting that it is still at the analysis stage. “There is a shortage of high quality products in China as this market continues to develop rapidly and is a major consumer of sophisticated spunmelt products.”
While it has not yet established any sort of spunmelt operation in Asia—despite its commitment to the technology—Fiberweb has been present in China for nearly a decade with airlaid nonwovens. The company currently operates two airlaid lines in Tianjin, China, an operation that performs well despite a large number of local converters, which are having an impact on branded femcare players—Fiberweb’s core customer base. According to Mr. Dayan, the company is exploring the possibility of adding an industrial spunmelt line to the operation.
Beyond that, growth in the developed world might well involve joint ventures, Mr. Dayan said. As in China with Chisso and Brazil with Fitesa, it simply makes more sense for Fiberweb to find ways to enter markets with less risk and more technological and customer knowledge. “There is much potential in areas such as India, Africa and the Middle East,” he added. “Our goal is to seek to satisfy our customers where they see demand growth.”
Moving toward industrial applications, this side of Fiberweb’s business was severely impacted in places by the economic crises, especially sales of products aimed at construction markets. “We have seen markets stabilize but are not yet calling the turn,” Mr. Dayan said. “Overall, I would characterize Fiberweb’s industrial business as serving multiple niche markets with differentiated products.”
Some of the areas where Fiberweb is seeing the most growth opportunities include construction and filtration where growth is being driven by the superior performance of its nonwoven products as well as by increased regulatory and customer requirements which are driving increased consumption—unlike in the hygiene market where growth is more dependent on demographics.
Fiberweb’s filtration business is set to receive a boost from a new meltblown line in Beisheim, France, which came onstream earlier this year to increase the company’s role in several air filtration markets including face masks, respirators and HVAC applications. However, amidst this investment, Fiberweb has also been busy streamlining its filtration portfolio—continuing its policy of exiting businesses where it does not consider itself a technology leader. In January, the company sold its small AQF line of patented carbon-containing composite filtration media to Hollingsworth & Vose. The technology combines particulate and gas phase filtration in one media to meet demanding customer adsorption requirements in panel, extended surface and vbank filters for odor control, corrosion control, toxic gas removal and elimination of airborne pollutants for Industrial, IAQ and Cabin Air applications.
Meanwhile, Fiberweb’s construction business, while hit by the economic situation, continues to roll out a number of interesting new products. These include the Surround SR Underlayment, a new tear-resistant roofing underlayment that offers secondary protection against moisture intrusion. Made from a waterproof, synthetic polymer material, Surround SR is designed to reduce the amount and weight of material needed to cover the roof.
Within geotextiles, Typar Matrix 3-D Geotextiles, is a new patent pending generation of three-dimensional geotextile products designed to reduce soil erosion and help meet recently introduced Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Construction and Development efluent limit guidelines. Typar Matrix 3-D Geotextiles is an innovative passive treatment system designed to work with silt fence, straw wattles and other traditional practices to ensure compliance with the new, more stringent, regulation.
Whether it’s responding to new regulations—like in construction, geotextiles and filtration—or chasing down new regional markets, Fiberweb remains focused on expanding its business in areas where it can develop added-value, differentiated products and services. “Fiberweb is committed to delivering both short-term and long-term growth through the development of sophisticated and differentiated products that meet or exceed customer needs,” Mr. Dayan said. “Therefore, continued expansion of investment in research and development are as essential as the sales and marketing resources required to take new products to market.”
Editor’s Note: Fiberweb’s $800 million annual sales figures includes sales related to its joint venture with Fitesa, FitesaFiberweb. Last year, sales for Fitesa, which is not a part of this year’s report, were $103 million.
Sales: $800 million
Description: Key Personnel
Daniel Dayan, CEO; Dan Abrams, CFO; Ian Barnes, president, Consumer Fabrics; Derek Chan, president, Asia; John Juric, president, Americas Industrial division; Paul Glover, managing director, Terram; Hans Jörg Oberberg, president, European Industrial division
Plants
Green Bay, WI; Old Hickory, TN; Simpsonville, SC; Tianjin, China; Biesheim, France; Aschersleben, Germany; Königswinter, Germany; Berlin, Germany; Trezzano Rosa, Italy; Pontypool, U.K.; Norrköping, Sweden; Port Elizabeth, South Africa (JV); Peine, Germany;Terno d’Isola, Italy; Washougal, WA (JV); Queretaro, Mexico (JV); Gravatai, Brazil (JV)
Processes
Chemical bonded, thermal bonded, meltblown, bicomponent spunbond, airlaid, air through bonded, spunbond and composites
Major Markets
Construction and ground contact, consumer care, filtration, baby and adult diapers, hygiene, medical and protective markets, industrial specialties, femcare
Sales decreased significantly for British nonwovens producer Fiberweb on lower average raw material prices as well as the incorporation of two of its major facilities into its joint venture with Brazilian roll goods producer Fitesa. The company's 2009 reported sales were $692 million (£454 million) but by adding its half stake in the FitesaFiberweb joint venture, sales for the period were more like $800 million, according to CEO Daniel Dayan.
And, despite raw material price challenges and a difficult global economy, Fiberweb was able to increase its profits 23% and its earnings per share 30%, continuing a trend that has been consistent during the last two-and-a-half years for the company. “Fibeweb has benefitted from improved asset and labor productivity as well as from the benefit of recent major investments in meltblown capacity, polyester recycling capacity as well as two recent Reicofil 4 investments in Europe,” Mr. Dayan explained.
Since 2006, Fiberweb has worked to increase its productivity. This has meant line closures in the U.S. and Europe, the divestment of underperforming businesses and investment in higher speed, more efficient lines. These efforts have decreased sales somewhat and lessened the size of the company’s global workforce but, at the same time, profits have increased significantly. Investment in research and development has been significantly increased, with additional development personnel in Europe, Asia and North America. A new R&D center and major pilot line facility is currently under construction at Old Hickory, TN and is expected to be operational in early 2011.
Another part of its new business model is focusing on business areas with competitive advantages, exiting areas where it was not the technology or commercial leader and creating new partnerships in which it can showcase its expertise in nonwovens technology. The first such partnership is the aforementioned FitesaFiberweb agreement, established last year, which combined Fiberweb’s spunmelt operations in Washington and Mexico with Fitesa’s assets in Brazil as well as a planned expansion in Simpsonville, SC. Already, the venture’s sales are about $200 million, a number that is expected to jump significantly when the first new North American line comes onstream during the first quarter of 2011.
Output from this new line, a bicomponent Reicofil 4 line, will be located at the joint venture’s headquarters in Simpsonville, SC, where it will largely serve the U.S. market which is currently relying heavily on imports, according to Mr. Dayan. Looking ahead, a second Reicofil 4 line, although not yet finalized, is likely to be constructed at the site. “We certainly expect to make further investments and we are exploring a number of options.”
Even before the first line is complete, the joint venture, which gave Fiberweb access to Fitesa’s Brazilian capacity, creating a much improved supply network is performing well, Mr. Dayan added. “The integration of the two businesses is going very well. It’s been much faster than expected.”
As the agreement with Fitesa is helping Fiberweb target markets within the Americas, the company is exploring a somewhat similar arrangement in Asia. In March, the company said it was working with Japanese nonwovens producer Chisso to explore the possibility of establishing a joint venture company to produce spunmelt nonwovens in China using the latest generation of spunmelt technology largely for the Asian hygiene market. Unlike the agreement with Fitesa, this partnership would only involve a brand new facility containing a specialty spunmelt line, Mr. Dayan explained. “This would be a good way to enter the Chinese spunbond market that limits risk,” he said, noting that it is still at the analysis stage. “There is a shortage of high quality products in China as this market continues to develop rapidly and is a major consumer of sophisticated spunmelt products.”
While it has not yet established any sort of spunmelt operation in Asia—despite its commitment to the technology—Fiberweb has been present in China for nearly a decade with airlaid nonwovens. The company currently operates two airlaid lines in Tianjin, China, an operation that performs well despite a large number of local converters, which are having an impact on branded femcare players—Fiberweb’s core customer base. According to Mr. Dayan, the company is exploring the possibility of adding an industrial spunmelt line to the operation.
Beyond that, growth in the developed world might well involve joint ventures, Mr. Dayan said. As in China with Chisso and Brazil with Fitesa, it simply makes more sense for Fiberweb to find ways to enter markets with less risk and more technological and customer knowledge. “There is much potential in areas such as India, Africa and the Middle East,” he added. “Our goal is to seek to satisfy our customers where they see demand growth.”
Moving toward industrial applications, this side of Fiberweb’s business was severely impacted in places by the economic crises, especially sales of products aimed at construction markets. “We have seen markets stabilize but are not yet calling the turn,” Mr. Dayan said. “Overall, I would characterize Fiberweb’s industrial business as serving multiple niche markets with differentiated products.”
Some of the areas where Fiberweb is seeing the most growth opportunities include construction and filtration where growth is being driven by the superior performance of its nonwoven products as well as by increased regulatory and customer requirements which are driving increased consumption—unlike in the hygiene market where growth is more dependent on demographics.
Fiberweb’s filtration business is set to receive a boost from a new meltblown line in Beisheim, France, which came onstream earlier this year to increase the company’s role in several air filtration markets including face masks, respirators and HVAC applications. However, amidst this investment, Fiberweb has also been busy streamlining its filtration portfolio—continuing its policy of exiting businesses where it does not consider itself a technology leader. In January, the company sold its small AQF line of patented carbon-containing composite filtration media to Hollingsworth & Vose. The technology combines particulate and gas phase filtration in one media to meet demanding customer adsorption requirements in panel, extended surface and vbank filters for odor control, corrosion control, toxic gas removal and elimination of airborne pollutants for Industrial, IAQ and Cabin Air applications.
Meanwhile, Fiberweb’s construction business, while hit by the economic situation, continues to roll out a number of interesting new products. These include the Surround SR Underlayment, a new tear-resistant roofing underlayment that offers secondary protection against moisture intrusion. Made from a waterproof, synthetic polymer material, Surround SR is designed to reduce the amount and weight of material needed to cover the roof.
Within geotextiles, Typar Matrix 3-D Geotextiles, is a new patent pending generation of three-dimensional geotextile products designed to reduce soil erosion and help meet recently introduced Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Construction and Development efluent limit guidelines. Typar Matrix 3-D Geotextiles is an innovative passive treatment system designed to work with silt fence, straw wattles and other traditional practices to ensure compliance with the new, more stringent, regulation.
Whether it’s responding to new regulations—like in construction, geotextiles and filtration—or chasing down new regional markets, Fiberweb remains focused on expanding its business in areas where it can develop added-value, differentiated products and services. “Fiberweb is committed to delivering both short-term and long-term growth through the development of sophisticated and differentiated products that meet or exceed customer needs,” Mr. Dayan said. “Therefore, continued expansion of investment in research and development are as essential as the sales and marketing resources required to take new products to market.”
Editor’s Note: Fiberweb’s $800 million annual sales figures includes sales related to its joint venture with Fitesa, FitesaFiberweb. Last year, sales for Fitesa, which is not a part of this year’s report, were $103 million.