Karen McIntyre, Editor03.06.25
Five years after the entire nonwovens supply chain was forced to respond quickly to the global Covid pandemic, meltblown manufacturers are weighing the challenges and opportunities of a whole new market. While demand for materials has receded significantly since 2021 when the entire world was “masked up,” consumer awareness over the importance of clean air—and nonwovens’ role in this challenge—has created a sustained need for high performance filtration materials.
Roller coaster of demand within the meltblown market led to an unprecedented rate of new line investment in the technology, creating a business environment where it seemed like everyone was getting into the meltblown—and by extension face mask—business.
According to data supplied by Price Hanna Consultants, demand for meltblown began to weaken in mid-year 2021 and normalized to pre-Covid levels by year end 2023. During that period, the number of global meltblown lines installed grew at a CAGR of more than 9% per year; eight to nine times higher than the historical rate. The number of stand-alone meltblown machines more than doubled from 2020 to 2023 as compared to those in 2019, leading many newly commissioned meltblown lines to fall idle or operate well below satisfactory utilization levels.
In terms of dollar units, between 2019 and 2020, demand for meltblown doubled to reach $1.6 billion, according to Smithers research. However, as mask use has waned, so has demand for meltblown, and the global market value for the technology was reported at around $1 billion in 2023. The good news is, growth has not dried up completely and demand is expected to hover around 6% per year until 2028 when the market is estimated to reach $1.4 billion.
Therefore, meltblown manufacturers, especially those with firm knowledge of the technology and the market, as well as the machinery technology to meet more stringent demand for higher performing filtration media, have reason to be optimistic.
“There is still some overcapacity but companies that were in meltblown for years before Covid, are going to be in meltblown for years after Covid,” says Ray Whitby, technical sales manager, Monadnock Non-Wovens. “A lot of the ‘pop-up’ companies that joined meltblown at the height of demand to make money—and a lot of them did—have exited the market. The companies that were here before Covid are still there. For us, our core customers are still there. We didn’t lose one and we picked up some.”
Earlier this year Monadnock Non-Wovens, a manufacturer of meltblown synthetic media, announced its strategic decision to invest in technology to deliver even higher efficiency meltblown media for air filtration and other applications. The new enhanced filter media, Monadnock HPAQ 3F, is engineered specifically for respirators, HVAC and air purification filters. It is being made in Mt. Pocono, PA.
“This hybrid new line allows us to do multiple things,” says Whitby. “It produces meltblown but also offers enhanced charges to create nonwovens or nonwoven composites with the meltblown inline.”
The reason behind the investment is simple—customer demand. Since the pandemic, Monadnock has noticed customers increasingly seeking higher performance materials due to increased awareness over what high performing filtration media can achieve and, perhaps even more importantly, a willingness to pay more for the technology.
“One of the main things that has come out of Covid is you have a consumer that is very aware of higher performance filtration products,” Whitby says. “Before Covid, N95 did not mean a thing to most people. Now everyone knows what it means.”
Filters made with Monadnock HPAQ 3F will capture more dust, pollen, allergens, viruses and smoke with lower pressure drop than traditional polypropylene and other synthetic meltblown media. They will be used in media used in residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural spaces where high levels of precision and purity are crucial in many fields and applications, particularly where even the smallest impurities can have significant consequences. HPAQ 3F will meet all international filtration standards: ASHRAE 52-2, ASTM 2100, EN-149, HEPA, MERV 10-16, and NIOSH.
The new line is also Monadnock’s widest, offering the material in rolls up to 2.4 meters wide. This virgin polypropylene (PP) product is recyclable, and trim waste can be repurposed in sorbent applications. As with all MNW products, it is made with 100% renewable wind-powered electricity (Green-e certified RECs).
“Bringing this new capability to our manufacturing facility enables us to produce materials that help meet global air filtration standards,” says Jim Cree, president. “In a time with forest fires and airborne diseases, we are offering the filtration market a healthier solution that is made right here in the U.S.”
Polypropylene remains the most important material in this segment, 86.2% of demand by weight in 2023. Across the next five years the fastest growth will come from more durable polymers – polycarbonate and polyamide (Nylon) – in specialist industrial applications. As in any segment that uses petrochemical inputs, meltblown manufacturing has had to react to economic sanctions and price rises in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the short-term both disposable and durable meltblown sales are threatened by inflation and a drop in consumer purchasing power. Production costs have also increased, in Europe in particular, as Russian natural gas has been excluded from international energy markets.
According to Tobias Wölfel, head of sales at nonwovens producer Sandler, his company continues to expand its range of raw materials used in meltblown including high-performance polymers to create specialized media for new areas,providing excellent technical properties, chemical- and oxidation resistance.
A pioneer in meltblown nonwovens, Sandler added capacity during the peak of Covid and continues to focus on developing innovations with its technologies both within the filtration area, particularly for liquid applications, as well as in new market areas.
“The meltblown market continues to be characterized by vigorous competition shaped by energy costs, raw material and energy fees and political influences. This has forced European meltblown producers to revise and strengthen their product portfolio,” Wölfel says. “However, this also offers the opportunity for companies such as Sandler to differentiate via a strong and innovative portfolio. A broad range of new applications for meltblown nonwovens are constantly being opened up and the market therefore offers a large potential for growth.”
Sandler is constantly expanding its product range and is also in the late development stages of several new meltblown media for different areas of application. Those state-of-the-art solutions focus on specialty areas, he adds.
“Owing to their characteristics, meltblown nonwovens are increasingly applied in other technical applications as well: Industrial cleaning, insulation, and support layers, and even the food industry – in all of these markets, the singular properties of meltblown media have opened up new applications for this technology. With our know-how in meltblown processing, we are open to developing tailor-made solutions for the clients’ needs,” Wölfel adds.
Another company that invested heavily in meltblown technology during Covid was Alkegen, which was then known as Lydall Inc. The company, already an expert in meltblown and filtration media, added lines in New Hampshire and France, creating one of the world’s largest meltblown business. More recently, the company has focused on improving the performance of its meltblown media. Its latest line, LyPore, is designed to meet the most critical application requirements, while providing high filtration efficiency, low-pressure drop and excellent dirt holding capacity. Additionally, Alkegen’s new molecular filtration media, LydAir GP, offers superior performance with expanded capabilities. State-of-the-art manufacturing facilitates exceptional uniformity and layering of a wide range of functional adsorbents including activated carbon and ion exchange resins. Additionally particulate filter media can be laminated in line providing a combination media for both molecular and particle filtration. LydAir GP offers 20%-30% better performance per specific gram of media, which results in higher efficiency and product performance that can be engineered to meet specific application demands.
With six meltblown lines, all of which have been added since 2002, Mogul continues to expand its output for masks, filtration media, spill control and other industrial applications. The company added its seventh meltblown line in Turkey in 2022, a 1.6 meter-wide Reicofil machine. The meltblown system is equipped with technology for electrostatic charging and supplies high-quality filter material that ensures a high degree of separation, low pressure loss and a high storage capacity. The plant brings an additional annual capacity of 550 tons for N95 material or 365 tons for N99 material to the market. In addition to PP, the new line is capable of running PBT, TPU and PLA polymers.
While its first four lines mainly targeted the spill control market, the Reicofil meltblown technology is allowing the company to target both high efficiency masks and filters and running specialty polymers to enter new areas. As face mask demand has waned, the line is ramping up its activity in filtration.
In early 2021, Radici Group—with the help of the Italian government—added a sophisticated meltblown line in Gandino, Italy, to help the company in its efforts against the Covid-19 pandemic. Initially, the line was serving the need for surgical face masks and other PPE materials but, four years later, executives say they have had to be more creative in finding markets for the material.
“We started operating a diversification in other sectors other than filtration, such as industrial and building applications, which we hope will lead us to a profitable business in the next years,” the company says. “The real strength of our nonwoven division is belonging to RadiciGroup which, thanks to its diversified activities and global presence, helped to mitigate the recent difficulties.”
Beyond filtration, Radici has been targeting its meltblown materials at other industrial markets where it already has a presence like roofing and building and industrial sorbents.
According to Smithers, new market development will be just one tenet of meltblown’s recovery journey. The other will be the exit of smaller players—which has happened—and the closure of older assets. In January, Kuraray, a Japanese nonwovens producer, said it would reduce capacity of meltblown nonwovens as part of a company-wide restructuring program.
“Having examined our future business policy, we have determined that restructuring through a reduction in production capacity is imperative,” the company announced. “We will restructure our nonwoven fabric business by focusing our management resources on the meltblown nonwoven fabric business.”
Active in meltblown nonwovens production since 1989, Kuraray shutdown its meltblown lines in Okayama, Japan, and consolidated it in Saijo. In addition to reducing its meltblown output, the company ceased production of drylaid nonwovens, an area it had been active in since 1972. In recent years, the business environment has become increasingly severe due to oversupply caused by investments throughout Asia and declining domestic demand, the company reports.
Roller coaster of demand within the meltblown market led to an unprecedented rate of new line investment in the technology, creating a business environment where it seemed like everyone was getting into the meltblown—and by extension face mask—business.
According to data supplied by Price Hanna Consultants, demand for meltblown began to weaken in mid-year 2021 and normalized to pre-Covid levels by year end 2023. During that period, the number of global meltblown lines installed grew at a CAGR of more than 9% per year; eight to nine times higher than the historical rate. The number of stand-alone meltblown machines more than doubled from 2020 to 2023 as compared to those in 2019, leading many newly commissioned meltblown lines to fall idle or operate well below satisfactory utilization levels.
In terms of dollar units, between 2019 and 2020, demand for meltblown doubled to reach $1.6 billion, according to Smithers research. However, as mask use has waned, so has demand for meltblown, and the global market value for the technology was reported at around $1 billion in 2023. The good news is, growth has not dried up completely and demand is expected to hover around 6% per year until 2028 when the market is estimated to reach $1.4 billion.
Therefore, meltblown manufacturers, especially those with firm knowledge of the technology and the market, as well as the machinery technology to meet more stringent demand for higher performing filtration media, have reason to be optimistic.
“There is still some overcapacity but companies that were in meltblown for years before Covid, are going to be in meltblown for years after Covid,” says Ray Whitby, technical sales manager, Monadnock Non-Wovens. “A lot of the ‘pop-up’ companies that joined meltblown at the height of demand to make money—and a lot of them did—have exited the market. The companies that were here before Covid are still there. For us, our core customers are still there. We didn’t lose one and we picked up some.”
Earlier this year Monadnock Non-Wovens, a manufacturer of meltblown synthetic media, announced its strategic decision to invest in technology to deliver even higher efficiency meltblown media for air filtration and other applications. The new enhanced filter media, Monadnock HPAQ 3F, is engineered specifically for respirators, HVAC and air purification filters. It is being made in Mt. Pocono, PA.
“This hybrid new line allows us to do multiple things,” says Whitby. “It produces meltblown but also offers enhanced charges to create nonwovens or nonwoven composites with the meltblown inline.”
The reason behind the investment is simple—customer demand. Since the pandemic, Monadnock has noticed customers increasingly seeking higher performance materials due to increased awareness over what high performing filtration media can achieve and, perhaps even more importantly, a willingness to pay more for the technology.
“One of the main things that has come out of Covid is you have a consumer that is very aware of higher performance filtration products,” Whitby says. “Before Covid, N95 did not mean a thing to most people. Now everyone knows what it means.”
Filters made with Monadnock HPAQ 3F will capture more dust, pollen, allergens, viruses and smoke with lower pressure drop than traditional polypropylene and other synthetic meltblown media. They will be used in media used in residential, commercial, industrial and agricultural spaces where high levels of precision and purity are crucial in many fields and applications, particularly where even the smallest impurities can have significant consequences. HPAQ 3F will meet all international filtration standards: ASHRAE 52-2, ASTM 2100, EN-149, HEPA, MERV 10-16, and NIOSH.
The new line is also Monadnock’s widest, offering the material in rolls up to 2.4 meters wide. This virgin polypropylene (PP) product is recyclable, and trim waste can be repurposed in sorbent applications. As with all MNW products, it is made with 100% renewable wind-powered electricity (Green-e certified RECs).
“Bringing this new capability to our manufacturing facility enables us to produce materials that help meet global air filtration standards,” says Jim Cree, president. “In a time with forest fires and airborne diseases, we are offering the filtration market a healthier solution that is made right here in the U.S.”
Market Recovery
Smithers’ analysts have tracked multiple factors that will determine the landscape for meltblown nonwoven sales in the short and medium term across 13 end-uses for the technology. Product mix is now moderating back to a conventional, pre-pandemic situation where the largest end uses for the technology are filtration, sorbents and insulation with wipes and medical meltblowns representing smaller, but still significant markets. Face coverings, clearly the market leader during Covid, are facing the most radical decline, accounting for 33% of all meltblown production by weight in 2020, but by 2028 they are forecast to be just 6%.Polypropylene remains the most important material in this segment, 86.2% of demand by weight in 2023. Across the next five years the fastest growth will come from more durable polymers – polycarbonate and polyamide (Nylon) – in specialist industrial applications. As in any segment that uses petrochemical inputs, meltblown manufacturing has had to react to economic sanctions and price rises in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In the short-term both disposable and durable meltblown sales are threatened by inflation and a drop in consumer purchasing power. Production costs have also increased, in Europe in particular, as Russian natural gas has been excluded from international energy markets.
According to Tobias Wölfel, head of sales at nonwovens producer Sandler, his company continues to expand its range of raw materials used in meltblown including high-performance polymers to create specialized media for new areas,providing excellent technical properties, chemical- and oxidation resistance.
A pioneer in meltblown nonwovens, Sandler added capacity during the peak of Covid and continues to focus on developing innovations with its technologies both within the filtration area, particularly for liquid applications, as well as in new market areas.
“The meltblown market continues to be characterized by vigorous competition shaped by energy costs, raw material and energy fees and political influences. This has forced European meltblown producers to revise and strengthen their product portfolio,” Wölfel says. “However, this also offers the opportunity for companies such as Sandler to differentiate via a strong and innovative portfolio. A broad range of new applications for meltblown nonwovens are constantly being opened up and the market therefore offers a large potential for growth.”
Sandler is constantly expanding its product range and is also in the late development stages of several new meltblown media for different areas of application. Those state-of-the-art solutions focus on specialty areas, he adds.
J.J. Gouin/Shutterstock.com
“Owing to their characteristics, meltblown nonwovens are increasingly applied in other technical applications as well: Industrial cleaning, insulation, and support layers, and even the food industry – in all of these markets, the singular properties of meltblown media have opened up new applications for this technology. With our know-how in meltblown processing, we are open to developing tailor-made solutions for the clients’ needs,” Wölfel adds.
Another company that invested heavily in meltblown technology during Covid was Alkegen, which was then known as Lydall Inc. The company, already an expert in meltblown and filtration media, added lines in New Hampshire and France, creating one of the world’s largest meltblown business. More recently, the company has focused on improving the performance of its meltblown media. Its latest line, LyPore, is designed to meet the most critical application requirements, while providing high filtration efficiency, low-pressure drop and excellent dirt holding capacity. Additionally, Alkegen’s new molecular filtration media, LydAir GP, offers superior performance with expanded capabilities. State-of-the-art manufacturing facilitates exceptional uniformity and layering of a wide range of functional adsorbents including activated carbon and ion exchange resins. Additionally particulate filter media can be laminated in line providing a combination media for both molecular and particle filtration. LydAir GP offers 20%-30% better performance per specific gram of media, which results in higher efficiency and product performance that can be engineered to meet specific application demands.
With six meltblown lines, all of which have been added since 2002, Mogul continues to expand its output for masks, filtration media, spill control and other industrial applications. The company added its seventh meltblown line in Turkey in 2022, a 1.6 meter-wide Reicofil machine. The meltblown system is equipped with technology for electrostatic charging and supplies high-quality filter material that ensures a high degree of separation, low pressure loss and a high storage capacity. The plant brings an additional annual capacity of 550 tons for N95 material or 365 tons for N99 material to the market. In addition to PP, the new line is capable of running PBT, TPU and PLA polymers.
While its first four lines mainly targeted the spill control market, the Reicofil meltblown technology is allowing the company to target both high efficiency masks and filters and running specialty polymers to enter new areas. As face mask demand has waned, the line is ramping up its activity in filtration.
In early 2021, Radici Group—with the help of the Italian government—added a sophisticated meltblown line in Gandino, Italy, to help the company in its efforts against the Covid-19 pandemic. Initially, the line was serving the need for surgical face masks and other PPE materials but, four years later, executives say they have had to be more creative in finding markets for the material.
“We started operating a diversification in other sectors other than filtration, such as industrial and building applications, which we hope will lead us to a profitable business in the next years,” the company says. “The real strength of our nonwoven division is belonging to RadiciGroup which, thanks to its diversified activities and global presence, helped to mitigate the recent difficulties.”
Beyond filtration, Radici has been targeting its meltblown materials at other industrial markets where it already has a presence like roofing and building and industrial sorbents.
According to Smithers, new market development will be just one tenet of meltblown’s recovery journey. The other will be the exit of smaller players—which has happened—and the closure of older assets. In January, Kuraray, a Japanese nonwovens producer, said it would reduce capacity of meltblown nonwovens as part of a company-wide restructuring program.
“Having examined our future business policy, we have determined that restructuring through a reduction in production capacity is imperative,” the company announced. “We will restructure our nonwoven fabric business by focusing our management resources on the meltblown nonwoven fabric business.”
Active in meltblown nonwovens production since 1989, Kuraray shutdown its meltblown lines in Okayama, Japan, and consolidated it in Saijo. In addition to reducing its meltblown output, the company ceased production of drylaid nonwovens, an area it had been active in since 1972. In recent years, the business environment has become increasingly severe due to oversupply caused by investments throughout Asia and declining domestic demand, the company reports.
