01.01.08
Location: CHARLOTTE, NC
Sales: $1.06 billion
Description: Key Personnel
Veronica Hagen, chief executive officer; Robert Kocourek, chief financial officer; Mike Hale, chief operating officer; Bob Dale, vice president of research and development; Jonathan Bourget, senior vice president and general manager, Europe; Rolando Dominguez, vice president, general manager, Latin America; Bill Spencer, vice president, general manager, Canada; Greg Crawford, vice president, general manager, U.S.; Rick Ferencz, vice president, engineering; John Heironimus, vice president and chief marketing officer; Dennis Norman, vice president, strategic planning and communication
Plants
Benson, NC; North Little Rock, AR; Mooresville, NC; Waynesboro, VA; Clackamas, OR; Clearfield, UT; Guntown, MS; Kingman, KS; Magog, Quebec; North Bay, Ontario; Cuijk, The Netherlands; San Luis Potosi, Mexico; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Bailleul, France; Nanhai, China; Suzhou, China; Cali, Colombia
ISO Status
Benson, NC; North Little Rock, AR; Mooresville, NC; Waynesboro, VA; Nanhai, China; Buenos Aires, Argentina; San Luis Potosi, Mexico; and Cuijk, The Netherlands are ISO 9002 certified
Processes
Spunbonded, meltblown, SMS, composites, through air bonded, adhesive bonded, resin bonded, thermal bonded, spunlaced, airlaid, apertured film, film laminates, sonic laminated, extruded polyolefins, thermal laminated, Apex, Spinlace, other proprietary fabric forming, surfacing and binding systems
Brand Names
Apex, Agriban, Agribon, Amira, Aquapex, Bonlinn, Bonsec, Chicopee, Chicopee Cares, Chix, Chux, Comfortlace, Comfortsilk, Duralace, Durapex, Dura-Tex, Freeswell, Isolite, Keybak, Kiara, Masslin, Matline, Medisoft, Medisoft Ultra, Multi-Strike, Poly-Breathe, Poly-Safe, Quat-Safe, Provira, Reticulon, Reforel, Softlin, Soft-Touch, Spinlace, SuperSoft, TopSwell, Thermoform, Thermospost Ultra Dryloft, Titan, Ultra-Ply, Xiora
Sales increased 3.7% to $1.06 billion for Polymer Group Inc. The Charlotte, NC-based producer attributed growth in the nonwovens segment as the primary progress for growth. Nonwovens sales increased to $885.7 million driven largely by the ramp-up of the new Suzhou, China operation as well as increases in the Latin America region due to assets installed in 2006 and new assets in North America.
During the past several years, the company has added new spunmelt lines in North Carolina, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and China as well as a finishing line capable of treating medical fabrics in China. As these lines continuously contribute to top line growth, PGI is also underway with a new spunmelt line in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
According to PGI executives, recent growth in Latin America has been between 8-12% a year and all of PGI’s lines there are currently operating at sold-out capacity. In the last few years, investment in the area has been a key priority for PGI, but that is not where the company’s focus ends.
“There are a lot of opportunities for growth in the nonwovens business,” said CEO Veronica Hagen. “What you have to get right is the timing—taking into account the actual time of investment. We will continue to invest where we get the best return on our money.”
PGI’s goal of being a global leader in the hygiene and medical markets will be achieved by focusing on sustainable development, examining which markets make the most sense for investment. In the long-term, PGI is looking at its structure from a market-based approach, not from a technology stand-point. This is illustrated through the company’s newly redesigned website, which breaks its business into four key segments—hygiene, medical, wipes and industrial.
In hygiene, PGI’s series of investments during the past five years has secured its place as the world’s largest spunmelt maker. When its latest investment, the Reicofil line in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, comes on stream, the new line will allow it to produce high-barrier materials for hygiene and medical applications to meet growing demand from customers in North America and increase capacity by approximately 15,000 metric tons.
The line has been described as a state-of-the-art, multi-beam spunmelt line, which will feature the latest technology and produce high-quality, lightweight, strong fabrics that are used in fine denier backsheet, leg cuffs and materials that go into other parts of diapers, as well as fabrics that provide high-barrier protection and comfort for medical garments.
In addition to serving customers in Mexico and the U.S., this new line—like similar investments in the region—also is a gateway for PGI to supply its products to Central America and the Caribbean. The new line is expected to begin production by mid-2009.
Meanwhile, in China, PGI’s medical business continues to benefit from the Suzhou expansion. In addition to a new spunmelt line in Suzhou, China, which began contributing to the topline growth during the fourth quarter of 2006, PGI is operating a finishing line capable of making related medical fabrics there. This investment reportedly follows a migration of the medical converting to China.
Benefiting PGI’s wipes business is its new Spinlace material, which was launched in April 2007, as a new category of fabrics delivering high performance and best value pricing. The Spinlace process provides added strength, absorbency, texturing and other performance characteristics that enhance cleaning in the wipes.
The Clorox Company has restaged its disinfectant line containing Spinlace technology. The upgraded product is being billed as thicker and more textured, characteristics that PGI’s proprietary Apex imaging technology can enable while delivering better cleaning based on comparison testing.
PGI developed Spinlace fabrics to bridge the gap between value and performance in wipes. Using a more efficient process that eliminates carded manufacturing steps, PGI is combining continuous filament, pulp and its proprietary Apex imaging technology to achieve the performance attributes customers want at competitive prices. PGI can custom design attributes from softness to strength and liquid dispersibility right into its material at lower weights to meet customers’ requests.
PGI began making the Spinlace on a pilot operation in April 2007 and then moved to a commercial line in October. Since then, the product has been successful and in April 2008, the company said it would start exporting it into Europe, a region historically seen as a growth spot for PGI, who has kept investment there minimal recently.
PGI’s final division, industrial, contains a number of smaller markets. In protective apparel, PGI has introduced an expanded family of protective apparel fabrics and converted garments that deliver enhanced safety and greater comfort for workers wearing them on the job. The new line-up includes coated and laminated fabrics with high-barrier properties and finishes to protect workers against fire, dangerous air particulates, toxic chemicals, blood transfer and other hazards. These durable materials have been designed to withstand the toughest jobs, including toxic site clean- up, emergency response, cleanroom and general industrial uses.
The new offerings range from lightweight polypropylene for general purpose uses to higher-performance coated, laminated and flame retardant (FR) materials for a range of needs. These breathable and durable materials are resistant to toxic chemicals and surface resistivity, and meet ASTM, antistatic and other requirements.
Meanwhile, in automotives, PGI is expanding the use of its environmentally-friendly acoustic materials into other vehicle components. Designed to silence interior vehicle noise, Silonyx materials are being used in production vehicles by General Motors, Ford and Honda, including North America’s best selling Chevy Malibu as well as the Ford Focus and Honda Civic models.
Initially introduced in trunk and wheel-well liners, Silonyx is being expanded into package trays, hush panels, dash insulators and HVAC ducts. PGI also has enhanced the product offerings in highly engineered wheel-well liners with Silonyx 4, a new four-layer product manufactured in a single-step process.
These substrates made from recyclable polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) provide a barrier to absorb sound and reduce noise in the interior compartment of a vehicle. In addition, the components themselves are recyclable.
As it focuses on growth across its four major divisions, PGI has also had to grapple with raw material price increases across all of its businesses, most recently announcing a price increase across all of its product lines in early July.
“From a historical basis, we have had good luck passing on raw material prices but there has always been a lag. It used to not matter because prices fluctuated up and down but now they are just going up so it’s become more difficult,” Ms. Hagen said.” PGI has combated raw material prices by eliminating waste throughout the manufacturing process and other efficiency measures, but price increases have been inevitable.
Additionally, PGI has worked to streamline its business through a number of plant shutdowns and line moves. Most recently, PGI said it would close its Landisville, NJ facility, where it manufactures carded thermal bond and chemical bond materials for hygiene and medical applications, by the third quarter. Certain product lines are expected to be transitioned to other facilities within the U.S. operations while others will be discontinued. The company will provide the approximately 85 affected workers with severance and displacement assistance.
The closure follows similar measures announced last year. In June, PGI said it would close its Neunkirchen, Germany plant and transfer portions of the business to the company’s plant in Cuijk, The Netherlands, while in January, PGI closed its Rogers, AR and Gainesville, GA facilities.
Sales: $1.06 billion
Description: Key Personnel
Veronica Hagen, chief executive officer; Robert Kocourek, chief financial officer; Mike Hale, chief operating officer; Bob Dale, vice president of research and development; Jonathan Bourget, senior vice president and general manager, Europe; Rolando Dominguez, vice president, general manager, Latin America; Bill Spencer, vice president, general manager, Canada; Greg Crawford, vice president, general manager, U.S.; Rick Ferencz, vice president, engineering; John Heironimus, vice president and chief marketing officer; Dennis Norman, vice president, strategic planning and communication
Plants
Benson, NC; North Little Rock, AR; Mooresville, NC; Waynesboro, VA; Clackamas, OR; Clearfield, UT; Guntown, MS; Kingman, KS; Magog, Quebec; North Bay, Ontario; Cuijk, The Netherlands; San Luis Potosi, Mexico; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Bailleul, France; Nanhai, China; Suzhou, China; Cali, Colombia
ISO Status
Benson, NC; North Little Rock, AR; Mooresville, NC; Waynesboro, VA; Nanhai, China; Buenos Aires, Argentina; San Luis Potosi, Mexico; and Cuijk, The Netherlands are ISO 9002 certified
Processes
Spunbonded, meltblown, SMS, composites, through air bonded, adhesive bonded, resin bonded, thermal bonded, spunlaced, airlaid, apertured film, film laminates, sonic laminated, extruded polyolefins, thermal laminated, Apex, Spinlace, other proprietary fabric forming, surfacing and binding systems
Brand Names
Apex, Agriban, Agribon, Amira, Aquapex, Bonlinn, Bonsec, Chicopee, Chicopee Cares, Chix, Chux, Comfortlace, Comfortsilk, Duralace, Durapex, Dura-Tex, Freeswell, Isolite, Keybak, Kiara, Masslin, Matline, Medisoft, Medisoft Ultra, Multi-Strike, Poly-Breathe, Poly-Safe, Quat-Safe, Provira, Reticulon, Reforel, Softlin, Soft-Touch, Spinlace, SuperSoft, TopSwell, Thermoform, Thermospost Ultra Dryloft, Titan, Ultra-Ply, Xiora
Sales increased 3.7% to $1.06 billion for Polymer Group Inc. The Charlotte, NC-based producer attributed growth in the nonwovens segment as the primary progress for growth. Nonwovens sales increased to $885.7 million driven largely by the ramp-up of the new Suzhou, China operation as well as increases in the Latin America region due to assets installed in 2006 and new assets in North America.
During the past several years, the company has added new spunmelt lines in North Carolina, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia and China as well as a finishing line capable of treating medical fabrics in China. As these lines continuously contribute to top line growth, PGI is also underway with a new spunmelt line in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
According to PGI executives, recent growth in Latin America has been between 8-12% a year and all of PGI’s lines there are currently operating at sold-out capacity. In the last few years, investment in the area has been a key priority for PGI, but that is not where the company’s focus ends.
“There are a lot of opportunities for growth in the nonwovens business,” said CEO Veronica Hagen. “What you have to get right is the timing—taking into account the actual time of investment. We will continue to invest where we get the best return on our money.”
PGI’s goal of being a global leader in the hygiene and medical markets will be achieved by focusing on sustainable development, examining which markets make the most sense for investment. In the long-term, PGI is looking at its structure from a market-based approach, not from a technology stand-point. This is illustrated through the company’s newly redesigned website, which breaks its business into four key segments—hygiene, medical, wipes and industrial.
In hygiene, PGI’s series of investments during the past five years has secured its place as the world’s largest spunmelt maker. When its latest investment, the Reicofil line in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, comes on stream, the new line will allow it to produce high-barrier materials for hygiene and medical applications to meet growing demand from customers in North America and increase capacity by approximately 15,000 metric tons.
The line has been described as a state-of-the-art, multi-beam spunmelt line, which will feature the latest technology and produce high-quality, lightweight, strong fabrics that are used in fine denier backsheet, leg cuffs and materials that go into other parts of diapers, as well as fabrics that provide high-barrier protection and comfort for medical garments.
In addition to serving customers in Mexico and the U.S., this new line—like similar investments in the region—also is a gateway for PGI to supply its products to Central America and the Caribbean. The new line is expected to begin production by mid-2009.
Meanwhile, in China, PGI’s medical business continues to benefit from the Suzhou expansion. In addition to a new spunmelt line in Suzhou, China, which began contributing to the topline growth during the fourth quarter of 2006, PGI is operating a finishing line capable of making related medical fabrics there. This investment reportedly follows a migration of the medical converting to China.
Benefiting PGI’s wipes business is its new Spinlace material, which was launched in April 2007, as a new category of fabrics delivering high performance and best value pricing. The Spinlace process provides added strength, absorbency, texturing and other performance characteristics that enhance cleaning in the wipes.
The Clorox Company has restaged its disinfectant line containing Spinlace technology. The upgraded product is being billed as thicker and more textured, characteristics that PGI’s proprietary Apex imaging technology can enable while delivering better cleaning based on comparison testing.
PGI developed Spinlace fabrics to bridge the gap between value and performance in wipes. Using a more efficient process that eliminates carded manufacturing steps, PGI is combining continuous filament, pulp and its proprietary Apex imaging technology to achieve the performance attributes customers want at competitive prices. PGI can custom design attributes from softness to strength and liquid dispersibility right into its material at lower weights to meet customers’ requests.
PGI began making the Spinlace on a pilot operation in April 2007 and then moved to a commercial line in October. Since then, the product has been successful and in April 2008, the company said it would start exporting it into Europe, a region historically seen as a growth spot for PGI, who has kept investment there minimal recently.
PGI’s final division, industrial, contains a number of smaller markets. In protective apparel, PGI has introduced an expanded family of protective apparel fabrics and converted garments that deliver enhanced safety and greater comfort for workers wearing them on the job. The new line-up includes coated and laminated fabrics with high-barrier properties and finishes to protect workers against fire, dangerous air particulates, toxic chemicals, blood transfer and other hazards. These durable materials have been designed to withstand the toughest jobs, including toxic site clean- up, emergency response, cleanroom and general industrial uses.
The new offerings range from lightweight polypropylene for general purpose uses to higher-performance coated, laminated and flame retardant (FR) materials for a range of needs. These breathable and durable materials are resistant to toxic chemicals and surface resistivity, and meet ASTM, antistatic and other requirements.
Meanwhile, in automotives, PGI is expanding the use of its environmentally-friendly acoustic materials into other vehicle components. Designed to silence interior vehicle noise, Silonyx materials are being used in production vehicles by General Motors, Ford and Honda, including North America’s best selling Chevy Malibu as well as the Ford Focus and Honda Civic models.
Initially introduced in trunk and wheel-well liners, Silonyx is being expanded into package trays, hush panels, dash insulators and HVAC ducts. PGI also has enhanced the product offerings in highly engineered wheel-well liners with Silonyx 4, a new four-layer product manufactured in a single-step process.
These substrates made from recyclable polypropylene and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) provide a barrier to absorb sound and reduce noise in the interior compartment of a vehicle. In addition, the components themselves are recyclable.
As it focuses on growth across its four major divisions, PGI has also had to grapple with raw material price increases across all of its businesses, most recently announcing a price increase across all of its product lines in early July.
“From a historical basis, we have had good luck passing on raw material prices but there has always been a lag. It used to not matter because prices fluctuated up and down but now they are just going up so it’s become more difficult,” Ms. Hagen said.” PGI has combated raw material prices by eliminating waste throughout the manufacturing process and other efficiency measures, but price increases have been inevitable.
Additionally, PGI has worked to streamline its business through a number of plant shutdowns and line moves. Most recently, PGI said it would close its Landisville, NJ facility, where it manufactures carded thermal bond and chemical bond materials for hygiene and medical applications, by the third quarter. Certain product lines are expected to be transitioned to other facilities within the U.S. operations while others will be discontinued. The company will provide the approximately 85 affected workers with severance and displacement assistance.
The closure follows similar measures announced last year. In June, PGI said it would close its Neunkirchen, Germany plant and transfer portions of the business to the company’s plant in Cuijk, The Netherlands, while in January, PGI closed its Rogers, AR and Gainesville, GA facilities.