Karen McIntyre, Editor08.31.21
It is not an overstatement to say that the year 2020 was one of the strongest ever for nonwovens. As the world ground to a halt and many industries faced global shutdowns, the nonwovens industry went into overdrive, meeting unprecedented demand for products like face masks, personal protective apparel and disinfectant wipes. This was achieved by pivoting production, repurposing capacity and even adding new lines.
In fact, the number of new lines being added by nonwovens producers currently is among the highest the industry has seen in its 50-plus year history. While meltblown investment is leading the way—with new lines meeting demand for face mask and high performance filtration media—there are many new spunmelt lines, serving hygiene and medical applications, as well as spunlace investments to meet surging demand in the disinfectant wipes category.
Now as we wait for these new lines to reach commercialization, the question will be how long demand will continue to surge. When masks are no longer a part of daily lives and consumers become less reliant on wipes, will all these new lines be needed?
Most experts say yes. Demand
In fact, the number of new lines being added by nonwovens producers currently is among the highest the industry has seen in its 50-plus year history. While meltblown investment is leading the way—with new lines meeting demand for face mask and high performance filtration media—there are many new spunmelt lines, serving hygiene and medical applications, as well as spunlace investments to meet surging demand in the disinfectant wipes category.
Now as we wait for these new lines to reach commercialization, the question will be how long demand will continue to surge. When masks are no longer a part of daily lives and consumers become less reliant on wipes, will all these new lines be needed?
Most experts say yes. Demand
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