09.08.22
Helsinki, Finland
www.suominen.fi
2021 Nonwovens Sales: $524 million
Key Personnel
Petri Helsky, CEO; Toni Tamminen, CFO; Markku Koivisto, senior vice president, Europe and CTO; Lynda Kelly, senior vice president, Americas and Business Development; Mimoun Saim, senior vice president, Global Operations; Klaus Korhonen, senior vice president, HR and Legal Affairs
Plants
Bethune, SC; Green Bay, WI; Windsor Locks, CT; Paulinia, Brazil; Cressa, Italy; Mozzate, Italy; Nakkila, Finland; Alicante, Spain
Processes
Spunlace, wetlaid, thermal bond, chemical bond, SPC, Webril
Major Markets
Wipes, medical, hygiene
For Suominen, the world’s largest producer of nonwovens substrates for wipes applications, business conditions varied greatly in the second half of 2021 compared to the first half. The year began with the same record volumes and sales seen in 2020, but third quarter sales dropped due to overstocking in the supply chain, followed by partial recovery in the fourth quarter. The overall result was the third best EBITDA in Suominen’s history, €47 million. Sales were €443.2 million or $524 million.
“Certain key customers especially in the U.S. continued to struggle with their inventory levels,” says CEO Petri Helsky. “This effected our sales negatively. We have been working to widen the product portfolio on the production lines especially affected by the inventory imbalance.”
Suominen has recently announced a number of new products focused on sustainability. One is Biolace Zero, a carbon neutral nonwoven, made using Veocel Lyocell fibers from Lenzing. The product is used for baby and personal care and household wips, is 100% biodegradable, compostable and plastic-free.
Additionally, in Europe, Suominen has introduced Biolace Silva, a pulp-based wetlaid nonwoven with exceptional cleaning power and even 50% lower carbon footprint than 100% viscose products. Besides being sustainable, it also offers convenience and a premium feel on the skin.
“The market for sustainable wipe products is gaining momentum supported by the single-use plastic directive in Europe, with brands and retailers adding sustainability as a cornerstone of their corporate strategy,” says Helsky. “With the entire supply chain focused on improving its carbon footprint, sourcing within the region of wipes consumption will become a more important part of the sustainable wipes solution.”
Part of this solution will likely be recycling and the use of recycled or repurposed products. Earlier this year, Suominen launched a nonwovens made from recycled paper. Hydraspun Circula, a moist toilet tissue substrate, was developed in cooperation with Codi Group and offers a variety of applications to meet consumers’ daily needs.
“The cornerstone of our strategy is sustainability, and we are continuously developing our offering and operations accordingly,” Helsky adds. “We are targeting to increase the sales of sustainable products by 50% by 2025 compared to the base year of 2019 and launch 10 sustainable products per year.”
In 2021, the sales of sustainable products were 47% higher than in the baseline year 2019 and during the year Suominen launched 16 sustainable products.
“We want to use resources efficiently and to operate with the smallest possible impact on the environment,” Helsky adds. “Suominen has concrete reduction targets for our greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, water consumption and waste to landfill and we progressed steadily towards these targets in 2021. As part of our work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we shifted entirely towards fossil-free electricity in all our European sites and have installed a solar panel plant with 2,222 solar panels to our site in Alicante, Spain.”
Another example of Suominen’s concrete work in the field of product sustainability is a new compostability test center in Nakkila, Finland. There,s Suominen is able to determine the biodegradability of nonwovens made of renewable raw materials. The test center has both industrial and home compost conditions, but the aim is to study biodegradability also wider in different environments. Suominen Green Lab supports Suominen’s product development.
In investment news, Suominen is getting ready to begin an improvement project on one of its lines in Nakkila, Finland, enhancing and upgrading capabilities to support its vision of being a frontrunner for nonwovens innovation and sustainability. This marks the fourth line Suominen has improved recently. In 2021, it upgraded and restarted an existing line in Cressa, Italy, a €8 million investment to strengthen capabilities in Europe. In Italy, Suominen enhanced another production line to strengthen its ability to make sustainable products. This investment was valued at €4 million.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Suominen has upgraded an existing wetlaid line in Bethune, SC, to widen its offerings and better support wipes demand. This wetlaid line largely focuses on hard surface disinfecting wipes and flushable wipes. Suominen serves this market, which has grown post-pandemic, with its Hydraspun portfolio of brands, and continues to innovate and expand.
For Suominen's 2020 top company profile, click here.
www.suominen.fi
2021 Nonwovens Sales: $524 million
Key Personnel
Petri Helsky, CEO; Toni Tamminen, CFO; Markku Koivisto, senior vice president, Europe and CTO; Lynda Kelly, senior vice president, Americas and Business Development; Mimoun Saim, senior vice president, Global Operations; Klaus Korhonen, senior vice president, HR and Legal Affairs
Plants
Bethune, SC; Green Bay, WI; Windsor Locks, CT; Paulinia, Brazil; Cressa, Italy; Mozzate, Italy; Nakkila, Finland; Alicante, Spain
Processes
Spunlace, wetlaid, thermal bond, chemical bond, SPC, Webril
Major Markets
Wipes, medical, hygiene
For Suominen, the world’s largest producer of nonwovens substrates for wipes applications, business conditions varied greatly in the second half of 2021 compared to the first half. The year began with the same record volumes and sales seen in 2020, but third quarter sales dropped due to overstocking in the supply chain, followed by partial recovery in the fourth quarter. The overall result was the third best EBITDA in Suominen’s history, €47 million. Sales were €443.2 million or $524 million.
“Certain key customers especially in the U.S. continued to struggle with their inventory levels,” says CEO Petri Helsky. “This effected our sales negatively. We have been working to widen the product portfolio on the production lines especially affected by the inventory imbalance.”
Suominen has recently announced a number of new products focused on sustainability. One is Biolace Zero, a carbon neutral nonwoven, made using Veocel Lyocell fibers from Lenzing. The product is used for baby and personal care and household wips, is 100% biodegradable, compostable and plastic-free.
Additionally, in Europe, Suominen has introduced Biolace Silva, a pulp-based wetlaid nonwoven with exceptional cleaning power and even 50% lower carbon footprint than 100% viscose products. Besides being sustainable, it also offers convenience and a premium feel on the skin.
“The market for sustainable wipe products is gaining momentum supported by the single-use plastic directive in Europe, with brands and retailers adding sustainability as a cornerstone of their corporate strategy,” says Helsky. “With the entire supply chain focused on improving its carbon footprint, sourcing within the region of wipes consumption will become a more important part of the sustainable wipes solution.”
Part of this solution will likely be recycling and the use of recycled or repurposed products. Earlier this year, Suominen launched a nonwovens made from recycled paper. Hydraspun Circula, a moist toilet tissue substrate, was developed in cooperation with Codi Group and offers a variety of applications to meet consumers’ daily needs.
“The cornerstone of our strategy is sustainability, and we are continuously developing our offering and operations accordingly,” Helsky adds. “We are targeting to increase the sales of sustainable products by 50% by 2025 compared to the base year of 2019 and launch 10 sustainable products per year.”
In 2021, the sales of sustainable products were 47% higher than in the baseline year 2019 and during the year Suominen launched 16 sustainable products.
“We want to use resources efficiently and to operate with the smallest possible impact on the environment,” Helsky adds. “Suominen has concrete reduction targets for our greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, water consumption and waste to landfill and we progressed steadily towards these targets in 2021. As part of our work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we shifted entirely towards fossil-free electricity in all our European sites and have installed a solar panel plant with 2,222 solar panels to our site in Alicante, Spain.”
Another example of Suominen’s concrete work in the field of product sustainability is a new compostability test center in Nakkila, Finland. There,s Suominen is able to determine the biodegradability of nonwovens made of renewable raw materials. The test center has both industrial and home compost conditions, but the aim is to study biodegradability also wider in different environments. Suominen Green Lab supports Suominen’s product development.
In investment news, Suominen is getting ready to begin an improvement project on one of its lines in Nakkila, Finland, enhancing and upgrading capabilities to support its vision of being a frontrunner for nonwovens innovation and sustainability. This marks the fourth line Suominen has improved recently. In 2021, it upgraded and restarted an existing line in Cressa, Italy, a €8 million investment to strengthen capabilities in Europe. In Italy, Suominen enhanced another production line to strengthen its ability to make sustainable products. This investment was valued at €4 million.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., Suominen has upgraded an existing wetlaid line in Bethune, SC, to widen its offerings and better support wipes demand. This wetlaid line largely focuses on hard surface disinfecting wipes and flushable wipes. Suominen serves this market, which has grown post-pandemic, with its Hydraspun portfolio of brands, and continues to innovate and expand.
For Suominen's 2020 top company profile, click here.