Spunmelt. The largest nonwovens technology by type continues to offer high speeds, uniformity and a value proposition unmatched by competing technologies. In recent years, spunmelt capacity has increased significantly as manufacturers around the world have invested in large-scale lines that not only meet the demand for the material in hygiene and medical applications but also offer a more cost efficient manufacturing process.

While the addition of new capacity has slowed down in the past 12 months, as the market takes a pause to absorb new lines, new lines continue to go in on a smaller scale. In North America, new lines from Fitesa and Uniquetex will add about 35,000 tons to the market between 2018-19. This is on top of a recent 20,000-ton installation from Avgol. Meanwhile, in Europe, new lines from Gulsan in Turkey, PF Nonwovens in the Czech Republic, Union Industries in Poland and Fitesa in Germany will add about 85,000 tons during the next two years.

Between 2017-2018, Avgol added 20,000 tons of capacity in the Middle Eastern region through its investment in Israel. This offset capacity lost due to the closure of the Mada plant caused by a fire. In North Africa, new lines from Hayat and Gulsan added 40,000 tons of capacity, and in South Africa new lines from Spunchem and PF Nonwovens are expected to be fully realized in 2019-2020.

In Asia, which has been the fastest growing market for nonwovens in recent years, at least 62,000 tons of new capacity will be added by 2021 thanks to line investments from Toray and Avgol while 71,000 new tons are being added in the Asia-Pacific region. In China, 76,000 tons of capacity is expected to be added in 2018-19 and this will be followed by another 50,000 tons in 2020. “While we expect more capacity will be installed during the 2021-2023 period, we estimate demand for Chinese-made spunlaid polypropylene nonwovens to be softening as compared to prior year-over-year rates which could impact future capacity growth,” according to industry consultant David Price.

“In summary, capacity growth will slow to allow for the absorption of new large scale capacity expansions that have occurred and which will continue to be added to the market in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa,” he says. “Recession in Brazil affecting much of South America dampens the outlook for capacity expansion in the near term, but aging capacity will be replaced once market demand justifies doing so. This could lead to pent up demand for new technology once market conditions improve.

“Demand growth for spunlaid polypropylene nonwovens in Southern Asia, Asia Pacific and China is expected to be the highest in the world through 2023 and capacity will be installed to meet that demand,” he adds. “With that said, there is the risk that competitive pressures will result in more capacity than needed being added in these regions.”

New Technologies
Two years ago Reifenhauser, one of the largest global manufacturers of spunbond and spunmelt equipment, launched the next generation of its Reicofil technology, the Reicofil 5. This introduction came more than 15 years after the German company introduced its Reicofil 4 line technology and more than three decades after it first developed Reicofil technology for the nonwovens industry.

According to executives, the new technology represented a giant step forward with the new performance data and the new possibilities that arise from digitalization. RF5 enables customers to produce nonwovens on the next quality and productivity level. In addition to being available on new lines, Reifenhauser has developed R5 upgrades for existing RF3 and RF4 lines.

One of the highlights of RF5 is the significant reduction of failures within nonwovens. When running standard raw materials, hard pieces will be reduced by up to 90% in comparison to RF4 technology. With this, Reicofil provides a solution for one of the major issues of contamination that exists in the industry. Producers running an RF4 line will be able to make use of this advantage by upgrading the line to RF4.5.

RF5 technology also filled the market demand for finer and finer filaments: the technology can produce up to 20% smaller fiber diameters. Thereby titers lower than one denier are producible for the first time. Compared to the RF4’s technology the same titers can be achieved with higher outputs or finer titers are feasible with the same outputs, but can provide for better uniformity, strength and softness.

In terms of productivity, the RF5 technology also raises the bar significantly: the output increases by up to 35%—to up to 270 kg/h per meter beam width for spunbond and to up to 70 kg/h per meter beam for meltblown. So, producers can run their lines at maximum speeds to achieve higher grammages.

The meltblown technology benefits from the increased output by a much wider process window, which raises the flexibility. Producers can decide now depending on their requirements whether to use the maximum output capacity and increase productivity by up to 35% or to produce 20% higher meltblown quality at the present throughput levels.

Looking at the line speed, the RF5 technology reaches the new peak value of 1200 meter per minute. As this value is the actual speed on the conveyor belt and not, as before, the speed at the winder, it can be fully utilized in production. Effectively producers can run their lines 30% faster than they could on RF4 lines.

When it comes to energy efficiency Reicofil lives up to its own claim of reducing the specific energy consumption with every new line generation. For the production of composite nonwovens RF5 saves up to 15% compared to RF4.

To further optimize the uptime, which had already reached a very high level with RF4 technology, Reicofil took another close look at maintenance time: Quench chambers and secondary air gaps can now be cleaned much faster. The result is decreased downtimes and increased productivity. In addition many of the new digital solutions have a positive effect on the uptime.
One of the first customers committing to the RF5 technology is Berry Global, the world’s largest nonwovens producer, which will add a RF5 spunmelt line in Nanhai, China.

“RF5 is a new process which enables us to extend innovation capabilities and enhance performance and comfort for consumers. We see Asia, not only China, as an opportunity to deliver the best possible products to our customers to help them win in this competitive – and highly exciting – marketplace,” says Vincenzo D’Acchioli, director Product Marketing Hygiene – EMEIA. “Investing in a state-of-the-art Reicofil RF5 asset is providing differentiated capabilities to serve Asia markets focused on premium applications in the desired hygiene and healthcare markets in a value added manner.”

Also investing in the new RF5 technology is Gulsan Group. The Turkish nonwovens producer announced it would add a 35,000-ton R5 line at its headquarters in Istanbul two years ago and is set to reach commercialization later this year. While executives declined to comment on the investment before its completion, the company said it would support its growth in the industry and in the region when it announced the new line. The investment will bring Gulsan’s total investment—the company has lines in Turkey and Egypt—to 160,000 tons. Its most recent investment, a 20,000-ton Reicofil 4+ line, started up in Egypt last year.

The third company known to be investing in RF5 technology is PF Nonwovens, a Czech-based company that combines the businesses of Pegas Nonwovens and First Quality Nonwovens. This investment is a semi-commercial line that not only will add an estimated capacity between 8-15,000 tons per year but will serve a pilot line for the company.

According to Jan Zidek, senior financial controller, this new technology uses proven bicomponent technologies, offering a wide range of fiber types and fiber profiles, while allowing the use of flexible raw materials. “A significant element of this technology is also the nonwoven textile bonding system, which is an alternative to the presently used conventional systems. Due to its development potential, we place great expectations on this technology and believe that it will help us to achieve significant successes in research, testing and subsequent commercialization of new products with applications for current as well as new markets.”

This new line is expected to be put into commercialization sometime in 2019 when PF will also put into operation a new spunmelt line in South Africa.

The combination of Pegas and First Quality created a multinational nonwovens producer with manufacturing sites in the Czech Republic, China, the U.S., South Africa and Egypt and sales around $500 million per year. Owned by R2G, a Czech private equity firm, the company aims to grow even larger to become a truly global leader in nonwovens in coming years.

“We are convinced that our customers will benefit from the merger and we hope to bring them new opportunities to expand and deepen the current business relationship,” Zidek says. “PFNonwovens’ combined research and development will provide new solutions, such as new products, new applications and also optimization of production-operational parameters. With our global presence we will be able to roll out these solutions across all markets to give our customers a competitive edge and overall we will be better positioned to support their business growth.”

Acquisition is nothing new in nonwovens and particularly in the spunmelt market. In fact, many of the top companies in the business can attribute merger and acquisition activity to growth over the past decade. Berry Global became the world’s largest maker of spunmelt nonwovens—and nonwovens in general—three years ago when it bought Avintiv, formerly PGI, which became the world’s largest producer following a string of acquisitions including Companhia Providencia in the U.S. and Brazil and Telsaca and Dounor in Europe. While Berry seems to have cooled its jets when it comes to nonwovens acquisition—the company bought breathable film supplier Clopay last year to broaden its offerings to the hygiene market—sources say the company is always seeking the next opportunity to expand its sales and its scope into new markets. 

“At Berry, our history is made of continuous, successful acquisitions, in dynamic markets with high revenues and growth,” D’Acchioli says. “We are committed to innovate with scope and scale to offer the widest range of solutions available from a single supplier. Our world-class portfolio is a prime example of this continuous drive to develop and improve technologies, and ensure that we remain in a leadership position around the world.”

Like Berry, Brazil’s largest nonwovens supplier Fitesa has also expanded its sales and market reach through acquisition. Most notably, the company propelled itself onto the global nonwovens stage in 2012 when it purchased the spunmelt assets of Fiberweb, its former joint venture partner, and soon after began an aggressive capital investment campaign which included new lines and line upgrades in Brazil, Peru, the U.S., Sweden and Spain. While new line builds have slowed as the company waits to finish existing projects, Fitesa recently expanded its scope into Southeast Asia through the acquisition of a majority share of CNC International, a Rayong, Thailand-based company largely serving the Southeast Asian markets. The company operates two sites in Rayong (Bangkok region, Thailand) and one sales office in Tokyo (Japan) and will have its name changed to FitesaCNC. The joint-venture will focus on the hygiene market – in line with the rest of the Fitesa business.

CNC’s last major investment was a 24,000-ton Reicofil 4 production line in 2013 and its current capacity is thought to be about 40,000 tons per year. Owned by the CPPC Group, which falls under the umbrella of Charoen Pokphand Group (CP), the largest agriculture-based conglomerate in Thailand, CNC was founded in 1994  as a 50/50 joint venture company between Fiberweb and CPPC, CPPC purchased all of the shares of CNC in late 2006. At the time of this purchase, executives referred to the move as a clear example of its intention of having CNC grow along with its key customers in the region.

Fitesa did not comment on the value of the transaction nor the company’s revenues, but executives did say the acquisition represents the company’s first step into one of the world’s fastest growing regions for spunbonded nonwovens and hygiene products.

Fitesa is not the only company investing in Southeast Asia. Fibertex Personal Care, an early pioneer in the region, completed its latest Malaysian production line at a new facility in Nilai in 2017. The new line, which not only adds 20,000 tons capacity to Fibertex’s Malaysian operation, expands its capabilities to make supersoft products which are in high demand in the Asian markets.

The new line is Fibertex Personal Care’s fifth in Malaysia. The Danish company has been present in the country since it opened its first site near Kuala Lumpur in 2003. Today, the company is one of the largest manufacturers of spunmelt nonwovens in Asia and reportedly the largest foreign supplier to the Japanese diaper market. The new site has enough room to someday house four production lines, meaning that the company will be well positioned to capitalize on future growth in the Asian hygiene market.

Meanwhile, several Asian companies including Japan’s Mitsui Chemical and Asahi Kasei, and Korea’s Toray Advanced Materials have made investments throughout Southeast Asia and are now reportedly eyeing India as the next growth region thanks to improved lifestyle changes, a high birth rate and a huge population—about 1.34 billion people. Toray has already confirmed plans to add a 18,000 ton line in Sri City and Mitsui Chemical is rumored to be considering investment in India to help fuel its partnership with diaper maker Kao Corporation, which is also entering the market.

Early last year, Avgol Nonwovens entered the Indian market with a non-Reicofil spunmelt line, which is reportedly successfully fueling the hygiene market there. While Avgol has not commented publicly on its decision to invest in an alternative technology for India, it has been a subject of interest among nonwovens industry observers. An overwhelming majority of spunmelt manufactured globally is made on Reicofil lines despite several challenges to the technology in recent years.

The latest two companies seeking to penetrate the hygiene market are Oerlikon and China’s Shaoyang Textile Machinery. The companies announced in October they had formed an agreement to engineer and supply a spunmelt nonwovens line for the global hygiene industry. The first product being offered by the two companies is the SMS QSR (Quality Sized Right) line, which is capable of making 12,000 tons of high quality nonwovens in widths of 3.2 meters and basis weights as low as 8 gsm per year. The technology will allow customers to manufacturer SMS featuring global quality standards with a faster return on investment than competing technologies, according to vice president of sales and marketing Ingo Mählmann.

According to the terms of the agreement, Oerlikon will be responsible for the sales, pre-engineering, commissioning and after sales of Shaoyang’s lines, allowing potential customers to benefit from its advanced engineering expertise, process know-how and worldwide service network. Additionally, Oerlikon acquires the CE certifications of all Shaoyang spunmelt lines sold outside of China. Oerlikon is also responsible for product and process guarantees and will provide worldwide customer services outside China. Shaoyang Textile Machinery, on the other hand, supplies the spunmelt plant technologies.

“With Shaoyang Textile Machinery, we have found a renowned Chinese plant manufacturer with extensive know-how in the construction of spunmelt plants for hygiene applications, which achieves international standards with its nonwoven qualities,” explains Oerlikon Manmade Fiber Segment CEO Georg Stausberg.

Rainer Straub, head of Oerlikon’s Nonwoven Business Unit, adds: “The partnership with Shaoyang Textile Machinery enables us to gain a foothold in the highly competitive hygiene market. Our many years of engineering experience guarantee our customers production lines according to international standards for high-quality nonwovens.”

The development of new technologies and the inaugurations of new lines has also contributed to the creation of new properties for spunmelt nonwovens which are responding to a new crop of demands in the hygiene market.

“Hygiene consumers are looking for comfort delivered by softness, dryness, fit, and discreetness. We offer the broadest range of solutions to satisfy these requirements, including topsheet, landing zone, backsheet, elastic panel, and barrier material, to delight the end customer in the usage experience,” says Berry’s D’Acchioli.

Late last year, Berry introduced range of superior-performing Soft nonwovens and films solutions, specifically engineered to deliver optimal comfort, protection, and discretion-in-use for a full range of hygiene applications. Nonwoven products in this range include SensaSoft, a new soft embossing solution with a unique pattern and lofty attributes suitable for backsheet applications, Snuggie, a  premium fastening system of soft nonwoven landing zones, with a appealing embossed design, compatible with custom artwork printing, and Kamisoft Advanced, a proprietary pattern blended with soft polymers designed to deliver optimal protection and comfort in baby care and adult incontinence SB/SMS applications.

D’Acchioli says Berry’s size and scope allows it to react quickly to its customer demands.

“Our scale and knowledge base allows us to research new technologies and push to continuously improve through process optimization and other efficiencies,” he says. “We provide a wide range of nonwoven, film, and elastic solutions for baby, feminine, and adult care applications, as well as for healthcare and specialty markets.”

Meanwhile, Avgol Nonwovens has launched a range of breathable fabrics which exceed the performance of current commercially available spunmelt SMS materials. The development of these enhanceFIT family  is in line with Avgol’s Forward Innovative Thinking (“FIT”) strategy for new product innovation.

“The enhanceFIT family is being developed to meet evolving product designer needs for lighter weight fabrics, having improved elasticity, barrier and breathable performance properties,” says Nick Carter, director of market business intelligence and intellectual property. “This family is based on multiple technology platforms that allows Avgol to tailor fabric performance for the needs of specific markets, including hygiene, medical and industrial applications.”

enhanceFIT Breathe is the first in a line of new fabric solutions resulting from Avgol’s recent developments in new assets and technology. The fabrics demonstrate enhanced uniformity with corresponding improvements in barrier, appearance and coverage in materials less than 25 gsm, without relying on cumbersome submicron filament fabrication methods. In practical applications, downgauged fabrics are now available that have previously required higher basis weights to achieve air permeability specifications.

This launch follows the introduction of Avgol’s Waveform 3D Technology, process which enables the modification of nonwoven fabrics for the baby diaper, adult incontinence and feminine hygiene markets. The technology enables varying three-dimensional profiles to be incorporated into Avgol’s range of standard and custom designed fabrics to generates a three-dimensional composition within flat fabrics, providing a number of additional benefits including advanced skin wellness, increased cushioning and enhanced cotton-feel. Waveform 3D Technology enables Avgol to offer high-performance nonwoven fabrics without compromising comfort, says Carter.

The ability to choose to use solid, apertured or combination patterns allows the product designer to truly tailor a solution for their application including how the fabric feels, how the fabric functions and how the fabric looks.

The development of new products will continue as manufacturers of spunmelt nonwovens continue to meet the changing needs of their customers in the hygiene market. In the short term, manufacturers will rely on research efforts, not major investment, to grow their businesses.

“We expect selective existing machine upgrades to address modernization needs as it becomes necessary rather than installing large scale production lines,” Price says.