(SAAF) Advanced Fabrics
Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
www.saafnw.com
2014 Nonwovens Sales: $83 million

Key Personnel
Ian Disley, managing director

Plants
Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia; Rabigh

Processes
Spunmelt

Plants
Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia; Rabigh

Major Markets
Hygiene, medical

New to this year’s report is Advanced Fabrics (SAAF), one of Saudi Arabia’s leading nonwovens manufacturer with a reported $83 million in sales last year.
The company currently operates three spunmelt nonwovens lines at two sites in Saudi Arabia with a total capacity of 40,000 tons per year. Key markets are medical and hygiene.

SAAF’s latest line, a six-beam Reicofil line is at a new plant in Rabigh on the west coast of Saudi Arabia. According to executives, this locations provides greater access to foreign markets in North Africa and Southern Europe. This site can make more than 12,000 tons per year. In addition to expanding its capacity and providing access to new geographies, the new line is helping SAAF to epand its presence in the medical and hygiene markets.

Already, Medalon S, the new version of the market leading Medalon  barrier product for Medical use, with softer touch and more fluid drape, expanded its presence with customers. Meanwhile, on the hygiene side, lightweight hygiene fabrics exhibiting SAAF’s normal excellent appearance and uniformity give both established and new partners the opportunity to reduce weight and costs in the ever more competitive diaper market.

And, after the successful acquisition of a major packaging company by SAAF’s parent company, Takween Advanced Industries, SAAF is now part of a substantial sized polymer-based group