SWM INTL, a leading global provider of highly engineered solutions and advanced materials for a variety of industries, marks its 20-year anniversary this month.
 
“I am honored to celebrate this milestone with SWM,” says SWM’s chairman and CEO Frédéric Villoutreix. “Over the last 20 years, not only have we enlarged our global footprint, but we leveraged our fiber-based expertise and technologies to position the company as a leader in high-performance engineered solutions, offering a range of attractive applications. On behalf of the entire management team, I want to thank our customers and investors for their trust and support over the years. Additionally, our appreciation goes to the thousands of SWM employees who have made the growth and success of the company possible, through their commitment to world-class service, quality and performance.”
 
Since spinning off from Kimberly-Clark in 1995, SWM has grown its worldwide presence, product portfolio and leadership position thanks to the company’s considerable technical expertise, patented technologies and manufacturing capabilities. In recent years, SWM initiated a transformative vision to diversify and accelerate its growth strategy, with strategic acquisitions in adjacent, complementary industries and with increased focus on organic growth opportunities. In 2013, SWM acquired DelStar Technologies, a world-leading manufacturer of thermoplastic nets, nonwovens, laminates, and extruded components, and added two asset acquisitions to DelStar in 2014. In late October 2015, SWM finalized its most recent acquisition of Argotec, a global leader in the polyurethane film industry. “Argotec is another key milestone in the transformation of SWM and the continued building of our non-tobacco business. Argotec, like DelStar, is a technology and quality leader in resin-based rolled goods with a strong competitive position,” Villoutreix comments.
 
SWM’s Advanced Fibers and Materials team also launched a new micro website for SWM’s LeafLAB. The LeafLAB team applies SWM’s considerable in-house R&D capabilities, reconstitution expertise, and manufacturing resources in Le Mans, France, and Ancram, NY, to commercialize new, botanically based products primarily outside of the tobacco industry. The website is currently targeted to beverage, packaging and cosmetic manufacturers and is designed to provide information on SWM’s expanding capabilities and products, ideally suited for their industries.