09.11.24
Porto Alegre, Brazil
www.fitesa.com
2023 Nonwovens Sales: $1.2 billion
Key Personnel
Silverio Baranzano, CEO; Hal Singley, CFO
Plants
Gravataí, Brazil; Cosmópolis, Brazil; Lima, Peru; San Jose Iturbide, Mexico; High Point, USA/NC; Simpsonville, USA/SC; Green Bay, USA/WI; Washougal, USA/WA; Norrkoping, Sweden; Peine, Germany; Trezzano Rosa, Italy; Sulmona, Italy; Rétság, Hungary; Kerkrade, Netherlands; Tianjin, China; Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE; Pune, India; Rayong, Thailand
Processes
Spunbond, SMS, bicomponent, meltblown, carded (chemical bonded, thermal bonded, air through bonded), airlaid, films, elastics, laminates and composites
Brazilian-based nonwovens producer Fitesa reported a dip in sales to $1.2 billion in 2023, a year when the company was heavily impacted by macroeconomic conditions including softness in regional economies and raw material price fluctuations. While the consumption of hygiene products made with nonwovens and films has slowly returned to growth, other markets like healthcare and industrial materials continue to fluctuate in finding normal levels post-pandemic. Additionally, overcapacity continued to impact the business in all regions.
“As with any other business, we had to adjust our procurement and sales strategies to the immediate challenges, without jeopardizing our ability to continue delivering results in the long term,” says Mariana Mynarski, corporate marketing, Fitesa. “However, Fitesa has a track record of thriving in periods of crisis, and we attribute this to our ability to make decisions quickly, adapting to new circumstances and taking advantage of rising opportunities.”
During the past decade, Fitesa has invested heavily in nonwovens production across its sites in North and South America and Europe. Its most recent investments are a state-of-the-art spunmelt line in O, which started last year, and one in Norrkoping, Sweden, which is scheduled to begin commercialization later this year. Both lines feature special capabilities to convert sustainable raw materials and produce high-loft products allowing the company to increase production for biobased and recycled materials in a more efficient manner. This strengthens the company’s strategy of supporting customers in increasing the sustainable content of their materials without compromising performance.
“Our sustainability strategy is focused on the pillars of sustainable products and sustainable operations,” Mynarski says. “We take a pragmatic approach based on the material aspects and impacts of our specific business and work to reduce and, whenever possible, eliminate the negative impacts of our facilities while supporting our customers to increase the sustainable content of their goods.”
Other recent investments include a spunlace line—the company’s first—in Jacareí, Brazil at a site acquired from Freudenberg Performance Materials in 2019. The new investment has allowed Fitesa to enter the South American wipes market, particularly via baby care applications, offering an expanded product range for its existing customers in the region. Fitesa first entered the wipes market through its acquisition of FiberDynamics in 2020. This site, located in High Point, NC, was expanded with the addition of a new meltblown line in 2021.
As it continues to focus on intensive development work at its five innovation centers located around the world, Fitesa will continue to develop new processes, raw materials and products to meet the markets’ current and future needs.
“Fitesa has always been committed to business longevity, and we understand that this is directly related to our ability to deliver results in the present without compromising the ability to continue doing so in the future, that is, championing responsible resource management, taking social and moral responsibility and ultimately working towards a sustainable society,” Mynarski says.
This approach has made Fitesa pioneers in the development and commercialization of biobased nonwovens, an innovation it received awards for as early as 2019 and continues to drive process and product innovation efforts.
“The interest in more sustainable alternatives has been growing but remains challenged by costs (especially with the economic instability of the past years) and the difficulty in translating technical, complex, multi-staged solutions in claims that address the consumers’ most immediate, pressing concerns,” Mynarski adds.
www.fitesa.com
2023 Nonwovens Sales: $1.2 billion
Key Personnel
Silverio Baranzano, CEO; Hal Singley, CFO
Plants
Gravataí, Brazil; Cosmópolis, Brazil; Lima, Peru; San Jose Iturbide, Mexico; High Point, USA/NC; Simpsonville, USA/SC; Green Bay, USA/WI; Washougal, USA/WA; Norrkoping, Sweden; Peine, Germany; Trezzano Rosa, Italy; Sulmona, Italy; Rétság, Hungary; Kerkrade, Netherlands; Tianjin, China; Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE; Pune, India; Rayong, Thailand
Processes
Spunbond, SMS, bicomponent, meltblown, carded (chemical bonded, thermal bonded, air through bonded), airlaid, films, elastics, laminates and composites
Brazilian-based nonwovens producer Fitesa reported a dip in sales to $1.2 billion in 2023, a year when the company was heavily impacted by macroeconomic conditions including softness in regional economies and raw material price fluctuations. While the consumption of hygiene products made with nonwovens and films has slowly returned to growth, other markets like healthcare and industrial materials continue to fluctuate in finding normal levels post-pandemic. Additionally, overcapacity continued to impact the business in all regions.
“As with any other business, we had to adjust our procurement and sales strategies to the immediate challenges, without jeopardizing our ability to continue delivering results in the long term,” says Mariana Mynarski, corporate marketing, Fitesa. “However, Fitesa has a track record of thriving in periods of crisis, and we attribute this to our ability to make decisions quickly, adapting to new circumstances and taking advantage of rising opportunities.”
During the past decade, Fitesa has invested heavily in nonwovens production across its sites in North and South America and Europe. Its most recent investments are a state-of-the-art spunmelt line in O, which started last year, and one in Norrkoping, Sweden, which is scheduled to begin commercialization later this year. Both lines feature special capabilities to convert sustainable raw materials and produce high-loft products allowing the company to increase production for biobased and recycled materials in a more efficient manner. This strengthens the company’s strategy of supporting customers in increasing the sustainable content of their materials without compromising performance.
“Our sustainability strategy is focused on the pillars of sustainable products and sustainable operations,” Mynarski says. “We take a pragmatic approach based on the material aspects and impacts of our specific business and work to reduce and, whenever possible, eliminate the negative impacts of our facilities while supporting our customers to increase the sustainable content of their goods.”
Other recent investments include a spunlace line—the company’s first—in Jacareí, Brazil at a site acquired from Freudenberg Performance Materials in 2019. The new investment has allowed Fitesa to enter the South American wipes market, particularly via baby care applications, offering an expanded product range for its existing customers in the region. Fitesa first entered the wipes market through its acquisition of FiberDynamics in 2020. This site, located in High Point, NC, was expanded with the addition of a new meltblown line in 2021.
As it continues to focus on intensive development work at its five innovation centers located around the world, Fitesa will continue to develop new processes, raw materials and products to meet the markets’ current and future needs.
“Fitesa has always been committed to business longevity, and we understand that this is directly related to our ability to deliver results in the present without compromising the ability to continue doing so in the future, that is, championing responsible resource management, taking social and moral responsibility and ultimately working towards a sustainable society,” Mynarski says.
This approach has made Fitesa pioneers in the development and commercialization of biobased nonwovens, an innovation it received awards for as early as 2019 and continues to drive process and product innovation efforts.
“The interest in more sustainable alternatives has been growing but remains challenged by costs (especially with the economic instability of the past years) and the difficulty in translating technical, complex, multi-staged solutions in claims that address the consumers’ most immediate, pressing concerns,” Mynarski adds.
