A Company of Hoftex Group AG
Hof/Saale, Germany
www.tenowo.com
2017 Nonwovens Sales: $173 million
Tenowo Mittweida GmbH
Mittweida, Germany
Tenowo Reichenbach GmbH
Reichenbach, Germany
Tenowo Inc.
Lincolnton NC, USA
Tenowo Huzhou New Materials Ltd.
Huzhou City, PRC
www.hoftexgroup.com
Key Personnel
Dr. Harald Stini, managing director; Detlev Käppel, global sales director technical nonwovens and managing director, Tenowo Huzhou; Chris Peart, president, Tenowo Inc. NC/USA
Plants
Hof/Saale, Germany; Reichenbach, Germany, Mittweida, Germany; Lincolnton, NC; Huzhou City, PRC
Processes
Drylaid, thermal bonded, needlepunched, saturate bonded, stitchbonded, spunlace
Brand Names
Variopoint, Unipoint, Unisoft, Zetafelt, Zetastitch, Zetafil, Zetawatt, Zetaloft, Florbond, Zetabond, Zetajet, Zetatherm, Zetamold, Zetacarb, Zetacoustic, Maliwatt, Malivlies, Kunit, Multiknit, eswegee, Bassopoint
Major Markets
Acoustics, automotive, filtration, roofing, industrial, composites, interlinings, medical
The year 2017 was for Tenowo one of both challenges and success. The company’s European business continued to be strong and nearly all of its sites were operating at full capacity. “Although we expected some slowdown in automotive segment due to the recent OEM ‘diesel affairs,’ at the end it turned out not to affect our sales in this segment,” says managing director Harald Stini. “Besides automotive we were able to succeed in our diversification strategy, meaning segments like building/construction, filtration, composites, medical and others were growing and the dependence on automotive decreased to a certain extent.”
Tenowo’s three German sites—in Hof, Reichenbach and Mittweida—continue to perform well. In Mittweida, new capacity for stitchbonded nonwovens was sold out nearly immediately and additional capacity will come onstream later this year. The company is also investing in new office space and a competence center for stitchbonded nonwovens in Mittweida, which will come onstream next year.
Meanwhile, in Reichenbach and Hof, Tenowo added a spunlace line and a needlepunch line, respectively, during a company-wide investment program in 2014. Now, the company is reviewing the possibility of added equipment and capacity featuring two nonwovens technologies at the sites.
In China, Tenowo Huzhou New Materials reported another year of growth, both in sales, volumes and market diversification. This operation is also running to capacity and the company is now determining its next step in China. “We were able to extend our marketshare in domestic China in automotive with existing global customers as well as local Tier1/OEMs,” says global sales director Detlev Käppel. “Moreover our export business was extended to India, Cambodia, Southeast Asia and Japan. Our manufacturing hub in China provides a great platform for further growth. The main market segments in automotive are NVH, interior trim, high-loft insulation, wire harnessing and seating applications.”
Tenowo’s interlining business, which is served from sites in Germany and China, remains stable and is still an important segment for the company. The included product group “Zetafil brands” for the semi luxury food and packaging industry developed nicely and the company expects further growth in the coming years.
Tenowo’s North American operation in Lincolnton, NC, was expanded with the construction of a 70,000 square meter building in 2017. The building houses Tenowo’s Multiknit technology which until then had only been made in Germany. Multiknit technology is primarily used in automotive seating applications.
“The installation and startup of the Multiknit manufacturing line has added a new dimension to Tenowo Inc.’s product portfolio,” says Chris Peart, president, Tenowo Inc. NC/USA. “As a product line, Multiknit is expected to open access to new markets and grow at strong double digit rates over the next five years. Overall, the future of Tenowo Inc. is very positive and further economic, technical and human resource growth is expected.”
According to Peart, the U.S. operation enjoyed a successful year despite volatility in the North American automotives market, particularly in passenger vehicles. Increased automobile production in Mexico has created demand for Tenowo’s Zetafelt and Zetabond products in that region. As a result, Tenowo opened a sales and warehousing facility in San Luis Potosí in 2018 in order to facilitate providing customers with localized service.
In other news, in April, Tenowo announced it would sell its 49% stake in Supreme Nonwoven Industries Pvt. Ltd. to its Indian co-shareholders.
Supreme Nonwoven Industries Pvt. Ltd. is based in Mumbai and active in the field of the production of nonwoven fabrics. The sale of the investment is a consequence of the continuing strategic focusing of Tenowo GmbH and will have no impact on the balance sheet equity of Hoftex Group. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price and the transaction is expected to be completed within 24 months after the conclusion of the purchase agreement.
Tenowo entered the agreement in 2006 with Supreme, a family-owned company with nonwovens several nonwovens operations in India. The agreement reportedly encompassed both industrial and interlining applications.
A Company of Hoftex Group AG
Hof/Saale, Germany
www.tenowo.com
2018 Nonwovens Sales: $138 million
Tenowo Mittweida GmbH
Mittweida, Germany
Tenowo Reichenbach GmbH
Reichenbach, Germany
Tenowo Inc.
Lincolnton NC, USA
Tenowo Huzhou New Materials Ltd.
Huzhou City, PRC
www.hoftexgroup.com
Key Personnel
Dr. Harald Stini, managing director; Detlev Käppel, global sales director technical nonwovens and managing director, Tenowo Huzhou; Chris Peart, president, Tenowo Inc. NC/USA
Plants
Hof/Saale, Germany; Reichenbach, Germany, Mittweida, Germany; Lincolnton, NC; Huzhou City, PRC
Processes
Drylaid, thermal bonded, needlepunched, saturate bonded, stitchbonded, spunlace
Brand Names
Variopoint, Unipoint, Unisoft, Zetafelt, Zetastitch, Zetafil, Zetawatt, Zetaloft, Florbond, Zetabond, Zetajet, Zetatherm, Zetamold, Zetacarb, Zetacoustic, Maliwatt, Malivlies, Kunit, Multiknit, eswegee, Bassopoint
Major Markets
Acoustics, automotive, filtration, roofing, industrial, composites, interlinings, medical
The exit from an Indian-based joint venture meant a decrease in overall sales for Tenowo, but executives at the Germany-based maker of nonwovens for automotives and other technical applications report that existing businesses saw a 6% increase in sales in 2018.
In April 2018, Tenowo announced it was selling its 49% stake in Supreme Nonwovens to its Indian co-shareholders. Tenowo had partnered with Supreme, a family-owned company with several nonwovens operations in India, since 2006.
“Ten years ago there was some optimism that the automotives industry in India would grow quickly but we are still seeing it in the range of two to three million units per year,” says Detlev Käppel, sales director. “We decided that we would rather focus our resources and our money to China and other places in Asia.”
Speaking of Asia after decades of continuous growth, China saw some challenges in late 2018, which have continued into 2019. “Last year we were seeing record production out of China but in November and December we began seeing some signs it wasn’t going to keep up,” Käppel adds. “Some OEMs in north of China shut down their plants for several weeks and some lowered their production significantly.”
With capacity utilization less than 50%, the Chinese market is recovering from a few years of aggressive investment but the market remains the largest market in the world, by far, with 23-24 million cars made there annually. As growth slows in this market, however, Tenowo is looking to other Asia markets like Vietnam, Cambodia and Japan to absorb its Chinese capacity.
Back in Europe, where Tenowo operates four sites in Germany, the company’s stitchbonding business has been performing extremely well thanks to growth of this material in the automotives market. In fact, the strength of stitchbonding led Tenowo to construct site no. 4 in Moschendorf where it houses a new stitchbonding line. This new capacity supplements output from Tenowo’s Mittweida site which was expanded in early 2018 and sold out nearly instantly.
Meanwhile, in Reichenbach and Hof, Tenowo has relatively new spunlace and needlepunch lines, which were added during a company-wide expansion effort a few years ago. While details have not been released, additional capacity is expected to come onstream later this year and target markets outside of medical.
In October, the company made significant steps toward this goal by purchasing Reintex Industriale, a Milan-based nonwovens manufacturing specialized in the medical market. The company is on the smaller side with annual sale around €3.5 million but managing director Harald Stini feels Tenowo’s international distribution network will be able to grow revenues quickly.
“We have been dependent on the cycles of the automotives market for years and we have been trying to establish a presence in new markets,” he says. “We have seen medical as a good fit for us and therefore we are looking for organic growth but also for companies that fit with us.”
Prior to the acquisition, Tenowo had already operated a small medical business in Hof and executives feel the Resintex products fit nicely with its current business.
“We think we can develop the segment further. The idea is to have some organic growth but if we see other companies that could fit into this strategy, we will be interested,” Stini says.
Back in the U.S., Tenowo’s North American operation in Lincolnton, NC, was expanded with the construction of a 70,000 square meter building in 2017. The building houses Tenowo’s Multiknit technology which until then had only been made in Germany. Multiknit technology is primarily used in automotive seating applications.
According to Peart, the U.S. operation enjoyed a successful year despite volatility in the North American automotives market, particularly in passenger vehicles. Increased automobile production in Mexico has created demand for Tenowo’s Zetafelt and Zetabond products in that region. As a result, Tenowo opened a sales and warehousing facility in San Luis Potosí in 2018 in order to facilitate providing customers with localized service.
A Company of Hoftex Group AG
Hof/Saale, Germany
www.tenowo.com; www.hoftexgroup.com
2021 Nonwovens Sales: $130 million
Key Personnel
Salvatore Musso, CEO Tenowo group, Dr. Elmar Wind, COO Tenowo Group, Detlev Käppel, global sales director technical nonwovens and managing director at Tenowo Huzhou; Fred Stephenson, president, Tenowo Inc. NC/USA
Plants
Hof/Saale, Reichenbach, Mittweida, Germany; Fizzonasco die Pieve, Italy; Lincolnton, NC/USA; Huzhou City, PRC
Processes
Drylaid, thermal bonded, needlepunched, saturate bonded, stitchbonded, spunlace, highloft
Brand Names
Variopoint, Unipoint, Unisoft, Zetafelt, Zetastitch, Zetafil, Zetawatt, Zetaloft, Florbond, Zetabond, Zetajet, Zetatherm, Zetamold, Zetacomp, Zetacoustic, Zetabolt, Zetaknit, Maliwatt, Malivlies, Kunit, Multiknit, Eswegee, Bassopoint
Major Markets
Acoustics, automotive, filtration, roofing, industrial, composites, interlinings, medical, healthcare, consumer goods
Tenowo’s sales in 2021 were still influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing supply chain interruptions. Especially in the first quarter 2021, the company reports a nice upturn in sales and production for all locations. The worldwide shortage of semiconductors, which began later in the year, slowed down orders in the automotive market.
Additional challenges included difficulties in the procurement of fibers and chemicals, inflation in all raw material groups and supply chain issues. “Our entire team worked hard to deal with all these challenges to minimize supply interruptions for our customers,” says COO Detlev Käppel. “We are very proud for all the achievements we reached together to guide Tenowo through this difficult environment.”
These challenges also led to a slight delay in the group’s new high loft product-group, Zetaloft+, which has been very successful and attracted a lot of new customers. Käppel says he expects to run this line at full capacity soon with a number of new sustainable products targeting different market segments like automotive (exterior and interior), apparel, furniture and the composite industry.
“The products show similar behavior to foams, save costs and are the perfect choice for customers which follow sustainability ideas,” he adds.
Tenowo operates three plants in Germany—in Hof, Rechenbach and Mittweida. In Hof, Tenowo was affected by a flooding event in June 2021 when several machines were damaged. The team was able to fully restore delivery and performance in the weeks and months following the flood and was able to minimize the impact on customers. Meanwhile, Reichenbach ran satisfactorily 2021, despite the influence on its orders because of the semiconductor shortage. Sales in other market segments such as roofing, industrial filtration or others helped it to compensate. In Mittweida, where Tenowo houses its European stitchbond business, capacity was fully utilized throughout most of the year with some variations due to the automotive crisis. The sustainable product group for car seats and other industrial applications, called “Multiknit and Climaknit,” gained considerable interest from both its existing and new customers. The fully recyclable nonwovens can replace foam and other “bulky” materials with the advantages of no VOC, good air permeability and much more, according to Käppel.
Elsewhere in Europe, Tenowo operates
a facility in Milan, Italy, which was acquired in 2019 as a way to expand its role in the medical market. “We repositioned our activities with a clear focus on medical devices developed and manufactured in-house and marketed both domestically and on an international level,” says CEO Salvatore Musso. “Our portfolio covers wound care applications, absorbent mats, tracheostomy pads, undercast paddings, just to name a few.”
For Tenowo's 2020 top company profile, click
here.
