01.01.04
Location: Gallarate, Italy
Sales: $88 million
Description: Key Personnel
Cav. Vittorio Orlandi, CEO; Massimiliano Orlandi, marketing director, Mario Saldarini, commercial director
Plants
Gallarate, Bolgare, Cressa, Cassano Magnago, Italy
ISO Status
ISO 9002 Certified
Processes
Needlepunch and hydroentangle
Brand Names
Akena, Tex Sil 2, Teporland More, Temporland Compact, Dacron II2SB, Flortex, Clax, Flormop, Solex, Alltex, Leitex, Dustex, Suntex, Suntex Plus, Robel-Tevar, Talura Telco, Axxys, Spring, Nortec, Dacron II, Dacron 808, Elastic 808
Major Markets
Medical, hygiene, apparel, home furnishings, interlinings, industrial/household wipes and synthetic leather.
Orlandi’s commitment to the spunlace market was reaffirmed this spring when the Gallarate, Italy-based company unveiled a plan to construct a line using this technology in the U.S. While a location for the U.S. line has not yet been announced, executives said that several spots, mostly in the southeast, are being examined. A decision will be made no later than November.
The new line will help Orlandi’s U.S. business which has been hurt by currency rates as well as export costs in recent months. “Because of the high export rates and the strength of the Euro, it is difficult for North American companies to buy materials from European suppliers. Establishing a base of operations eliminates currency fluctuations and freight costs,” said Mario Saldarini, commercial director.
The U.S. line will join four other spunlaced machines in Orlandi’s portfolio, which are all located in Italy. Three of these lines—two in Cressa and one in Gallarate—employ traditional viscose-based spunlaced technology; the remaining and the newest, which is housed in Cressa, can create a three-layer substrate containing a middle layer of fluff pulp that offers improved cost performance over straight viscose. The fourth line, which can produce about 16,000 tons per year is currently running at about 9000 tons a year, an optimal level for company executives. The line came onstream in February 2003.
Line number four has allowed Orlandi to balance its business amidst overcapacity issues in Europe. Its more cost-efficient output responds to large customers’ needs for lower-priced materials and Orlandi’s need for reduced raw material costs. The U.S. line will reportedly feature the same airlace-style technology. This line, Mr. Saldarini said, will produce three-layer materials with a layer of pulp sandwiched between two synthetic layers. The incorporation of wood pulp in spunlaced significantly drives down costs, because its key ingredient, viscose, has been subject to significant price hikes in recent years. Wet wipes suppliers in Europe and the U.S. are rapidly moving toward this material for hygiene and surface care applications. Orlandi offers two types of products using airlace technology—a soft version for personal care products and a tougher, more resistant product for household cleaning.
While baby wipes continue to be Orlandi’s largest market for spunlaced, the company has seen significant growth in the household cleaning wipes market, particularly in Europe, where opportunities for value-added innovation exist. Currently 65% of Orlandi’s spunlaced business centers around the wipes markets while 30% is sold to the medical market. The remaining capacity is sold to niche industrial markets.
As Orlandi’s largest business, representing 76% of sales, spunlaced is certainly vital to the company but needlepunch continues to perform well, despite market maturity. The company produces 4000 tons of the material annually on two lines. Key markets include dry wipes and artificial leather. While significant investment hasn’t been made in this business in some time, it has made some new products for its private label customers in recent months. These efforts were met with success. For the first time in several years, Mr. Saldarini said he has seen an upward pricing trend for the past four months and he is hopeful that this trend will be followed by a period of innovation in the nonwovens industry.
“We hope that customers are seeking to create new products and markets because that will allow us to do something new,” he said.
Sales: $88 million
Description: Key Personnel
Cav. Vittorio Orlandi, CEO; Massimiliano Orlandi, marketing director, Mario Saldarini, commercial director
Plants
Gallarate, Bolgare, Cressa, Cassano Magnago, Italy
ISO Status
ISO 9002 Certified
Processes
Needlepunch and hydroentangle
Brand Names
Akena, Tex Sil 2, Teporland More, Temporland Compact, Dacron II2SB, Flortex, Clax, Flormop, Solex, Alltex, Leitex, Dustex, Suntex, Suntex Plus, Robel-Tevar, Talura Telco, Axxys, Spring, Nortec, Dacron II, Dacron 808, Elastic 808
Major Markets
Medical, hygiene, apparel, home furnishings, interlinings, industrial/household wipes and synthetic leather.
Orlandi’s commitment to the spunlace market was reaffirmed this spring when the Gallarate, Italy-based company unveiled a plan to construct a line using this technology in the U.S. While a location for the U.S. line has not yet been announced, executives said that several spots, mostly in the southeast, are being examined. A decision will be made no later than November.
The new line will help Orlandi’s U.S. business which has been hurt by currency rates as well as export costs in recent months. “Because of the high export rates and the strength of the Euro, it is difficult for North American companies to buy materials from European suppliers. Establishing a base of operations eliminates currency fluctuations and freight costs,” said Mario Saldarini, commercial director.
The U.S. line will join four other spunlaced machines in Orlandi’s portfolio, which are all located in Italy. Three of these lines—two in Cressa and one in Gallarate—employ traditional viscose-based spunlaced technology; the remaining and the newest, which is housed in Cressa, can create a three-layer substrate containing a middle layer of fluff pulp that offers improved cost performance over straight viscose. The fourth line, which can produce about 16,000 tons per year is currently running at about 9000 tons a year, an optimal level for company executives. The line came onstream in February 2003.
Line number four has allowed Orlandi to balance its business amidst overcapacity issues in Europe. Its more cost-efficient output responds to large customers’ needs for lower-priced materials and Orlandi’s need for reduced raw material costs. The U.S. line will reportedly feature the same airlace-style technology. This line, Mr. Saldarini said, will produce three-layer materials with a layer of pulp sandwiched between two synthetic layers. The incorporation of wood pulp in spunlaced significantly drives down costs, because its key ingredient, viscose, has been subject to significant price hikes in recent years. Wet wipes suppliers in Europe and the U.S. are rapidly moving toward this material for hygiene and surface care applications. Orlandi offers two types of products using airlace technology—a soft version for personal care products and a tougher, more resistant product for household cleaning.
While baby wipes continue to be Orlandi’s largest market for spunlaced, the company has seen significant growth in the household cleaning wipes market, particularly in Europe, where opportunities for value-added innovation exist. Currently 65% of Orlandi’s spunlaced business centers around the wipes markets while 30% is sold to the medical market. The remaining capacity is sold to niche industrial markets.
As Orlandi’s largest business, representing 76% of sales, spunlaced is certainly vital to the company but needlepunch continues to perform well, despite market maturity. The company produces 4000 tons of the material annually on two lines. Key markets include dry wipes and artificial leather. While significant investment hasn’t been made in this business in some time, it has made some new products for its private label customers in recent months. These efforts were met with success. For the first time in several years, Mr. Saldarini said he has seen an upward pricing trend for the past four months and he is hopeful that this trend will be followed by a period of innovation in the nonwovens industry.
“We hope that customers are seeking to create new products and markets because that will allow us to do something new,” he said.
