09.03.21
Tel Aviv, Israel
www.avgol.com
2020 Nonwoven Sales: $400 million
Key Personnel
Tommi Bjornman, CEO; Sivan Yedidsion, CFO; Bart Stubbe, CPO; Itamar Shai, chief administrative officer & legal counsel; Nick Carter, vice president of marketing; Michael Kihlgren, vice president, EMEA sales; Fatih Erguney, vice president research and development
Plants
Israel, North Carolina, China, Russia, India
Major Markets
Hygiene, medical
The big news from Avgol is a three-tier investment at its Uzlovaya, Russia, site which will enhance the company’s role in existing markets and help it expand into new areas. The largest part of the investment is the addition of a high-speed, high-capacity flexible Reicofil 5 spunmelt production line, which will provide greater production capacity for growing regional markets and support the release of new Avgol technologies, according Tommi Bjornman, CEO of Avgol.
“Serving the growing baby diaper, adult incontinence and feminine hygiene markets along with satisfying sustained demand for meltblown filtration and medical materials, this investment enables Avgol to deliver an improved degree of service across the entire area while consolidating and strengthening our existing position,” he says.
Avgol, an Indorama Ventures Limited company, offers a comprehensive range of ultra-lightweight spunmelt nonwoven fabrics to the global hygiene market. The latest investment, Avgol’s third line in Russia, will include bicomponent and corresponding high-loft capabilities thus producing materials for applications that meet the needs of upper tier products for hygiene customers.
In addition to the Reicofil 5 line, Avgol will add a meltblown line as well as a new line offering cutting-edge lamination capabilities at the Russia site. These investments will not only enhance Avgol’s offerings to its existing markets but will also allow it to explore new opportunities in other markets.
“The RF5 line, meltblown line and lamination capabilities will provide us a powerful set of platforms as a base from which to provide high-value products for our customers,” says Bjornman. “It will enable us to further diversify the Avgol innovation portfolio while remaining true to our roots.”
The investment will also significantly support further sustainable product development in Avgol, under its innovative FIT (Forward Innovative Thinking) strategy. “Avgol is committed to the future of nonwoven fabrics with a particular focus on bringing polyolefins forward as viable resins in single use articles,” he says. “We are excited to bring new assets, new capabilities, and new technologies that will challenge customer expectations of the nonwoven fabric industry.”
This investment will make the Russian production facility the second largest site for Avgol after the company’s North American site in Mocksville, NC.
In India, Avgol announced in late 2020 it would relocate an existing asset from Israel to India as part of an immediate strategic investment in the region.The move is part of the company's commitment to continue increasing its presence and service across India and South Asia. The investment in new production capacity would also support further product development from Avgol, under its innovative Forward Innovative Thinking strategy (FITTM). The research and development program creates value, flexibility and sustainability for brands and manufacturers from the outset.
The relocation is expected to be complete by the end of 2021.
Avgol entered the market in India in 2018 when it completed its first spunmelt line, which was reported at the time to be a non-Reicofil asset. At the time, the company said the investment was intended to help support existing customers as they entered the Indian market.
Avgol recently launched natureFIT family of technologies as part of its FIT platform. This exemplifies its strong focus on sustainability which matches that of the consumers. The natureFIT portfolio enables more effective value-driven product development across hygiene applications, while reducing environmental impact in terms of resources and waste.
Additionally, beneFIT Defense, a nonwoven substrate technology, responds to global antimicrobial and viral control needs, which have become accelerated as the world moves towards ‘the new normal.’ Another significant step for the business is how the company approaches development of technologies. “We are collaborating much more closely with academia and new businesses arriving to the market,” he says. “We believe this synergistic development will sharpen focus and further prepare Avgol for effective NPD as we boost capacity.”
Avgol’s Waveform 3D technology, beneFIT and comfortFIT platforms have all entered development programs with a number of brands for new products in 2020-2021. While Covid-19 has led to some delays in new product development for the sector, Avgol is in a fantastic position and poised to continue this momentum including the new sales for PPE materials.
In 2018, Avgol was purchased by chemical specialties supplier Indorama Ventures Ltd, joining other companies throughout the hygiene supply chain. This has allowed Avgol to benefit from synergies between the companies.
www.avgol.com
2020 Nonwoven Sales: $400 million
Key Personnel
Tommi Bjornman, CEO; Sivan Yedidsion, CFO; Bart Stubbe, CPO; Itamar Shai, chief administrative officer & legal counsel; Nick Carter, vice president of marketing; Michael Kihlgren, vice president, EMEA sales; Fatih Erguney, vice president research and development
Plants
Israel, North Carolina, China, Russia, India
Major Markets
Hygiene, medical
The big news from Avgol is a three-tier investment at its Uzlovaya, Russia, site which will enhance the company’s role in existing markets and help it expand into new areas. The largest part of the investment is the addition of a high-speed, high-capacity flexible Reicofil 5 spunmelt production line, which will provide greater production capacity for growing regional markets and support the release of new Avgol technologies, according Tommi Bjornman, CEO of Avgol.
“Serving the growing baby diaper, adult incontinence and feminine hygiene markets along with satisfying sustained demand for meltblown filtration and medical materials, this investment enables Avgol to deliver an improved degree of service across the entire area while consolidating and strengthening our existing position,” he says.
Avgol, an Indorama Ventures Limited company, offers a comprehensive range of ultra-lightweight spunmelt nonwoven fabrics to the global hygiene market. The latest investment, Avgol’s third line in Russia, will include bicomponent and corresponding high-loft capabilities thus producing materials for applications that meet the needs of upper tier products for hygiene customers.
In addition to the Reicofil 5 line, Avgol will add a meltblown line as well as a new line offering cutting-edge lamination capabilities at the Russia site. These investments will not only enhance Avgol’s offerings to its existing markets but will also allow it to explore new opportunities in other markets.
“The RF5 line, meltblown line and lamination capabilities will provide us a powerful set of platforms as a base from which to provide high-value products for our customers,” says Bjornman. “It will enable us to further diversify the Avgol innovation portfolio while remaining true to our roots.”
The investment will also significantly support further sustainable product development in Avgol, under its innovative FIT (Forward Innovative Thinking) strategy. “Avgol is committed to the future of nonwoven fabrics with a particular focus on bringing polyolefins forward as viable resins in single use articles,” he says. “We are excited to bring new assets, new capabilities, and new technologies that will challenge customer expectations of the nonwoven fabric industry.”
This investment will make the Russian production facility the second largest site for Avgol after the company’s North American site in Mocksville, NC.
In India, Avgol announced in late 2020 it would relocate an existing asset from Israel to India as part of an immediate strategic investment in the region.The move is part of the company's commitment to continue increasing its presence and service across India and South Asia. The investment in new production capacity would also support further product development from Avgol, under its innovative Forward Innovative Thinking strategy (FITTM). The research and development program creates value, flexibility and sustainability for brands and manufacturers from the outset.
The relocation is expected to be complete by the end of 2021.
Avgol entered the market in India in 2018 when it completed its first spunmelt line, which was reported at the time to be a non-Reicofil asset. At the time, the company said the investment was intended to help support existing customers as they entered the Indian market.
Avgol recently launched natureFIT family of technologies as part of its FIT platform. This exemplifies its strong focus on sustainability which matches that of the consumers. The natureFIT portfolio enables more effective value-driven product development across hygiene applications, while reducing environmental impact in terms of resources and waste.
Additionally, beneFIT Defense, a nonwoven substrate technology, responds to global antimicrobial and viral control needs, which have become accelerated as the world moves towards ‘the new normal.’ Another significant step for the business is how the company approaches development of technologies. “We are collaborating much more closely with academia and new businesses arriving to the market,” he says. “We believe this synergistic development will sharpen focus and further prepare Avgol for effective NPD as we boost capacity.”
Avgol’s Waveform 3D technology, beneFIT and comfortFIT platforms have all entered development programs with a number of brands for new products in 2020-2021. While Covid-19 has led to some delays in new product development for the sector, Avgol is in a fantastic position and poised to continue this momentum including the new sales for PPE materials.
In 2018, Avgol was purchased by chemical specialties supplier Indorama Ventures Ltd, joining other companies throughout the hygiene supply chain. This has allowed Avgol to benefit from synergies between the companies.
