09.11.24
Weinheim, Germany
2023 Nonwovens Sales: $2.75 billion
Freudenberg Performance Materials $1.57 billion
Freudenberg Filtration Technologies $677 million
Japan Vilene $511 million
Key Personnel
Andreas Raps, CEO; Marco Altherr, CFO; John McNabb, CTO
Plants
Africa: 1; Asia: 7; The Americas: 4; Europe: 21
ISO Status
All locations are ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified; locations serving the automotive industry are TS 16469 certified; all sites are OHSAS 18001 certified
Processes
Drylaid staple fiber, wetlaid, spunbond, meltblown, needlepunch, thermal bond, chemical bond, water entanglement
Brands
Comfortemp, Colback, Colbonddrain, Enka Solutions, Dr!pstop, Enka Solutions, Evolon, Lutradur, SoundTex, Vlieseline, Terbond, Texbond, Mehler Texnologies, Filtura, Filc
Major Markets
Automotive, apparel, building interiors, building materials, energy, filter media, healthcare, special applications, shoe and leather goods
“Challenging” was the word executives used to describe Freudenberg Performance Materials’ business environment in 2023 and 2024. These challenges existed in most of the company’s core markets but were felt particularly strongly in the building materials segment.
“We have seen more lowlights than highlights in our business environment—geopolitical risks are leading to uncertainty and global inflation and interest rates are not in our favor,” says Andreas Raps, CEO. “We are active in building and construction, and we see a lot of rigid behavior in these markets—an unwillingness to invest in new buildings and projects that are on hold.”
However, some highlights were seen in the company’s healthcare operations as well as its Asian-based apparel business, where the company recently invested in a new facility dedicated to manufacturing its comfortemp waddings material in Vietnam.
“I would say we consider 2024 a transitional year so I don’t see a lot of silver linings on the horizon right now,” Raps adds. “We hope we will have a better 2025. We are using this time to make house cleaning activities, cost structure, technology set up to be prepared for the next set up.”
Freudenberg employees celebrate the grand opening of a comfortemp site in Vietnam.
Because of its involvement in a far-reaching range of markets, Freudenberg is typically resilient in times of crisis. This downturn has been felt differently, however, because it’s a challenging time for the nonwovens industry in general.
Within the fuel cell technology market, where Freudenberg invested a reported €28 million in new capacity in Weinheim, Germany, last year, demand is not yet meeting expectations. However, executives remain bullish about the long-term prospects of this market.
“The gas diffusion layer is considered a future-oriented business,” Raps says. “Currently, the markets are down, and optimism is diminished, but we see it as an investment in the long-term future. We believe that businesses such as new energy models, battery separators, and fuel cells are the technologies of the future.”
Primarily targeting industrial applications like forklifts, the technology tends to be more expensive than oil and gas technology, and the willingness to pay more for cleaner energy is not yet widespread. Looking ahead, Freudenberg will focus on achieving economies of scale to improve its cost structure.
In other investment news, last year, Freudenberg expanded its EnkaMat technology with a new line in Changzhou, China. Completed in July 2023, the new line increased capacity and complemented existing EnkaMat sites in Obernburg, Germany, and Asheville, NC. The EnkaMat technology is used to create three-dimensional matrices that prevent restriction.
“With this new investment, we can support our customers locally and the good thing about Enka is we see a lot of synergies with a lot of our technologies and processes,” Raps says. “We are working to combine these technologies.”
In India, Freudenberg is on track to start production on a new interlinings line in Chennai, India, which will allow it to produce a wider range of materials, especially focused on polyester, at the end of 2025.
Also in Asia, in July Freudenberg held an opening ceremony in Vietnam for its brand new comfortemp thermal insulation facility. This facility, located in Long Thanh District, will expand the Asian reach of comfortemp, Freudenberg’s renowned high-performance thermal insulation material, designed to elevate fashion and sportswear apparel.
The Vietnamese facility is equipped to produce sustainable thermal insulations, providing customers with options that align with their sustainable garment production initiatives and goals. This additional new factory extends Freudenberg Apparel’s thermal insulation production across key Asian markets, including the Chinese mainland and South Korea. It also significantly strengthens Freudenberg Apparel’s global production capabilities and supply network.
Freudenberg already manufactures comfortemp at sites in China and Europe.
“The new line can make fully recyclable materials which is very positive,” Raps says. “We are convinced this is not a trend but a requirement in the future. We want to be a first mover and set the pace for this kind of development.”
In addition to comfortemp, Freudenberg has made several steps to improve its apparel business in recent years. In 2023, the company established a 900-square-meter Asian-based Apparel Technical Solution Center at its Nantong, China, factory to offer technical expertise and innovations to apparel customers from nearly all apparel segments in Asia and around the world.
In May 2023, Freudenberg completed work on a competence center for finishing and coating base materials for the apparel industry at its site in Sant’Omero, Italy. The site now accommodates two lines, which were relocated from Weinheim, Germany, as well as a third transferred from a closed Argentinean site.
Customers are currently benefitting from quicker and more flexible order processing of products originating in Europe. The Freudenberg team in Sant’Omero has a rich history of expertise in manufacturing high-quality interlinings for menswear, with base materials produced at the site being finished and coated according to customers’ specifications.
With the new competence center, the facility is now focused on coating and finishing all nonwoven, woven and weft apparel interlinings in Freudenberg’s portfolio. The Weinheim, Germany, site now serves as Freudenberg’s headquarters for the production of interlining base materials.
Freudenberg’s healthcare sector is thriving due to factors such as population growth and the aging population in many of its core markets. The company has made significant investments in two facilities in the U.K. that have allowed it to expand the scope of its advanced wound care business, offering high-performance nonwovens and polyurethane foams. One of the company’s more interesting recent product introductions is an elastic variant of its flexible superabsorbers for modern wound dressings. These superabsorbers enhance patient comfort and allow for longer wear time, reducing the need for frequent dressing changes.
In new product news, Freudenberg has developed a 100% synthetic wetlaid nonwoven product line in Germany. The new materials can be made from various types of polymer-based fibers, including ultra-fine micro-fibers and are designed for use in filtration applications and other industrial uses. This product line complements the company’s wide range of wetlaid nonwoven capabilities. Freudenberg can also incorporate glass fibers, viscose and cellulose into this substrate.
Throughout all of its business areas, sustainability continues to be an important component of Freudenberg’s success. This began decades ago when the company was among the first in the world to use recycled PET from water bottles and continues today through process improvements and new product launches.
“We think of sustainability in terms of handprint and footprint,” Raps says. “The handprint is the product that we hand over to our customers and the footprint is our internal efforts like the consumption of energy.”
Recent new products that offer a more sustainable option to its customers include a needlepunched material that can replace a nonwoven/glass fiber hybrid product in automotive applications. Eliminating the glass fiber materials makes the product recyclable, and Raps says customers are very excited about this product.
“Sustainability is a key pillar, and we strongly believe it will be a game changer,” he says. Freudenberg, with its R&D power and its technologies, is the first mover to offer more sustainable solutions, he says, adding that Freudenberg’s broad technology allows it to combine products and processes, no matter what the customers’ demand is. “I think the headline for the next three years is that we will continue to capitalize on this more,” Raps adds.
2023 Nonwovens Sales: $2.75 billion
Freudenberg Performance Materials $1.57 billion
Freudenberg Filtration Technologies $677 million
Japan Vilene $511 million
Key Personnel
Andreas Raps, CEO; Marco Altherr, CFO; John McNabb, CTO
Plants
Africa: 1; Asia: 7; The Americas: 4; Europe: 21
ISO Status
All locations are ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 certified; locations serving the automotive industry are TS 16469 certified; all sites are OHSAS 18001 certified
Processes
Drylaid staple fiber, wetlaid, spunbond, meltblown, needlepunch, thermal bond, chemical bond, water entanglement
Brands
Comfortemp, Colback, Colbonddrain, Enka Solutions, Dr!pstop, Enka Solutions, Evolon, Lutradur, SoundTex, Vlieseline, Terbond, Texbond, Mehler Texnologies, Filtura, Filc
Major Markets
Automotive, apparel, building interiors, building materials, energy, filter media, healthcare, special applications, shoe and leather goods
“Challenging” was the word executives used to describe Freudenberg Performance Materials’ business environment in 2023 and 2024. These challenges existed in most of the company’s core markets but were felt particularly strongly in the building materials segment.
“We have seen more lowlights than highlights in our business environment—geopolitical risks are leading to uncertainty and global inflation and interest rates are not in our favor,” says Andreas Raps, CEO. “We are active in building and construction, and we see a lot of rigid behavior in these markets—an unwillingness to invest in new buildings and projects that are on hold.”
However, some highlights were seen in the company’s healthcare operations as well as its Asian-based apparel business, where the company recently invested in a new facility dedicated to manufacturing its comfortemp waddings material in Vietnam.
“I would say we consider 2024 a transitional year so I don’t see a lot of silver linings on the horizon right now,” Raps adds. “We hope we will have a better 2025. We are using this time to make house cleaning activities, cost structure, technology set up to be prepared for the next set up.”
Freudenberg employees celebrate the grand opening of a comfortemp site in Vietnam.
Because of its involvement in a far-reaching range of markets, Freudenberg is typically resilient in times of crisis. This downturn has been felt differently, however, because it’s a challenging time for the nonwovens industry in general.
Within the fuel cell technology market, where Freudenberg invested a reported €28 million in new capacity in Weinheim, Germany, last year, demand is not yet meeting expectations. However, executives remain bullish about the long-term prospects of this market.
“The gas diffusion layer is considered a future-oriented business,” Raps says. “Currently, the markets are down, and optimism is diminished, but we see it as an investment in the long-term future. We believe that businesses such as new energy models, battery separators, and fuel cells are the technologies of the future.”
Primarily targeting industrial applications like forklifts, the technology tends to be more expensive than oil and gas technology, and the willingness to pay more for cleaner energy is not yet widespread. Looking ahead, Freudenberg will focus on achieving economies of scale to improve its cost structure.
In other investment news, last year, Freudenberg expanded its EnkaMat technology with a new line in Changzhou, China. Completed in July 2023, the new line increased capacity and complemented existing EnkaMat sites in Obernburg, Germany, and Asheville, NC. The EnkaMat technology is used to create three-dimensional matrices that prevent restriction.
“With this new investment, we can support our customers locally and the good thing about Enka is we see a lot of synergies with a lot of our technologies and processes,” Raps says. “We are working to combine these technologies.”
In India, Freudenberg is on track to start production on a new interlinings line in Chennai, India, which will allow it to produce a wider range of materials, especially focused on polyester, at the end of 2025.
Also in Asia, in July Freudenberg held an opening ceremony in Vietnam for its brand new comfortemp thermal insulation facility. This facility, located in Long Thanh District, will expand the Asian reach of comfortemp, Freudenberg’s renowned high-performance thermal insulation material, designed to elevate fashion and sportswear apparel.
The Vietnamese facility is equipped to produce sustainable thermal insulations, providing customers with options that align with their sustainable garment production initiatives and goals. This additional new factory extends Freudenberg Apparel’s thermal insulation production across key Asian markets, including the Chinese mainland and South Korea. It also significantly strengthens Freudenberg Apparel’s global production capabilities and supply network.
Freudenberg already manufactures comfortemp at sites in China and Europe.
“The new line can make fully recyclable materials which is very positive,” Raps says. “We are convinced this is not a trend but a requirement in the future. We want to be a first mover and set the pace for this kind of development.”
In addition to comfortemp, Freudenberg has made several steps to improve its apparel business in recent years. In 2023, the company established a 900-square-meter Asian-based Apparel Technical Solution Center at its Nantong, China, factory to offer technical expertise and innovations to apparel customers from nearly all apparel segments in Asia and around the world.
In May 2023, Freudenberg completed work on a competence center for finishing and coating base materials for the apparel industry at its site in Sant’Omero, Italy. The site now accommodates two lines, which were relocated from Weinheim, Germany, as well as a third transferred from a closed Argentinean site.
Customers are currently benefitting from quicker and more flexible order processing of products originating in Europe. The Freudenberg team in Sant’Omero has a rich history of expertise in manufacturing high-quality interlinings for menswear, with base materials produced at the site being finished and coated according to customers’ specifications.
With the new competence center, the facility is now focused on coating and finishing all nonwoven, woven and weft apparel interlinings in Freudenberg’s portfolio. The Weinheim, Germany, site now serves as Freudenberg’s headquarters for the production of interlining base materials.
Freudenberg’s healthcare sector is thriving due to factors such as population growth and the aging population in many of its core markets. The company has made significant investments in two facilities in the U.K. that have allowed it to expand the scope of its advanced wound care business, offering high-performance nonwovens and polyurethane foams. One of the company’s more interesting recent product introductions is an elastic variant of its flexible superabsorbers for modern wound dressings. These superabsorbers enhance patient comfort and allow for longer wear time, reducing the need for frequent dressing changes.
In new product news, Freudenberg has developed a 100% synthetic wetlaid nonwoven product line in Germany. The new materials can be made from various types of polymer-based fibers, including ultra-fine micro-fibers and are designed for use in filtration applications and other industrial uses. This product line complements the company’s wide range of wetlaid nonwoven capabilities. Freudenberg can also incorporate glass fibers, viscose and cellulose into this substrate.
Throughout all of its business areas, sustainability continues to be an important component of Freudenberg’s success. This began decades ago when the company was among the first in the world to use recycled PET from water bottles and continues today through process improvements and new product launches.
“We think of sustainability in terms of handprint and footprint,” Raps says. “The handprint is the product that we hand over to our customers and the footprint is our internal efforts like the consumption of energy.”
Recent new products that offer a more sustainable option to its customers include a needlepunched material that can replace a nonwoven/glass fiber hybrid product in automotive applications. Eliminating the glass fiber materials makes the product recyclable, and Raps says customers are very excited about this product.
“Sustainability is a key pillar, and we strongly believe it will be a game changer,” he says. Freudenberg, with its R&D power and its technologies, is the first mover to offer more sustainable solutions, he says, adding that Freudenberg’s broad technology allows it to combine products and processes, no matter what the customers’ demand is. “I think the headline for the next three years is that we will continue to capitalize on this more,” Raps adds.
