Suominen has announced it will build a new wetlaid line at its existing plant in Bethune, SC. The Finland-based company announced in January it would add a new wetlaid line to its operation, calling it the most significant single initiative in its €30-50 million investment plan initiated in late 2014.

“The planned manufacturing line would contribute essentially for the execution of Suominen’s growth strategy. Through successful strategy execution, as we have announced, Suominen would become a company with a net sales of roughly €500 million by the end of 2017. Besides, the investment would support our target to further increase the share of products with higher value-added in our portfolio,” says Saara Söderberg, vice president, marketing & product management and the project manager of the investment initiative.

The Bethune site was selected as the platform for this potential investment for several strategic and financial reasons, according to senior vice president of operations, North America, Larry Kinn. “Bethune is ideally located in the Carolinas, the nonwovens hub of North America and is favorably located from a logistical standpoint of serving our customers and managing our raw materials,” he says, “Moreover, the Bethune plant already has ongoing operations, a very talented staff and has considerable infrastructure already in place for the expansion.”

The Bethune site was originally owned by Fiberweb. It was purchased by Ahlstrom when it acquired Fiberweb’s wipes business and later acquired by Suominen.

Suominen has also announced upgrades to lines in Spain and Brazil as part of its investment plan. In Alicante, Spain, the investment will serve the globally growing markets of industrial wiping and medical nonwovens, while in Paulinia, Brazil, investment will expand Suominen’s product offering and further strengthen its position in the growing South American wipes market while helping it gain entry to the medical and hygiene nonwovens segments.