The Asian nonwovens industry will be in the spotlight this spring as the entire global industry convenes in Korea for ANEX, the year’s largest nonwovens-related exhibition.

For the first time in 2012, ANEX, the Asian Nonwovens Exhibition, will be held in Seoul, South Korea, showcasing the robust growth for nonwovens in this market. Organized by the Asian Nonwoven Fabrics Association, ANEX is part of the three-year rotation of trade shows, which includes IDEA in North America and INDEX in Europe. It was first held in Japan in 2000 and was last held in Shanghai, China in 2009.

Currently, nearly 300 exhibitors are set to exhibit at ANEX, which will be held June 13-15 at Kintex in Seoul, South Korea. Exhibitors will include nonwovens makers, raw material providers, machinery and equipment makers from Asia and throughout the globe.

The event will be organized by UBM Korea, a subsidiary of UBM, Asia’s leading trade fair organizer.

In 2009, the final exhibitor count was 351 companies, which represented 26 countries. The exhibition covered 18,000 square feet. The Asian region was the most largely represented, comprising about 60% of total visitors. Hon Kong, Macau and Taiwan contributed 15% of visitors; Europe represented 14%, North America accounted for 6.4%, Oceania comprised 2% and Latin America represented 1.3% of total visitors.

In terms of business breakdown, the largest percentage of visitors represented the hygiene/medical/personal care markets, comprising 21.8% of sales. Meanwhile, textiles and apparel and industrial/technical textiles were also strong, representing 17.8% and 17.1% of visitors, respectively. Other markets represented included automotive interiors (7.3%), chemical/petrochemical (8.3%), composites (10.3%), filtration/separation (7.4%), geosynthetics (4.9%), home furnishings and furniture (3.6%) and packaging (6.9%).
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n terms of company types, 27.8% of visitors said they are buyers of nonwovens; 24.4% are machinery manufacturers; 14.5% are traders, 14.2% said they are suppliers, 14.2% are converters, 8.9% are roll goods producers and 6.2% report being part of a research institution.
By job function, the largest segment represented was purchasing (20.3%) but other roles included sales/marketing (15.9%), CEO/president/chairman, (11.3%), production/manufacturing, (9.4%), corporate management (9.9%), research development (6%), research and development (5%), new business development (5.8%) and plant production management (4.3%).

ANEX 2012 is expected to follow similar trends as 2012, showcasing the global growth of the Asian nonwovens industry, which has been the subject of significant investment. In recent weeks, alone, no fewer than three major diaper plant expansions have been announced in China to chase growth in this market’s incredible growth prospects. Similarly, nonwovens investment has been strong throughout Asia .

While China is certainly leading the pack with this investment, certainly all of Asia is prepping for growth. In Korea, home of ANEX 2012, Toray Advanced Materials remains one of the world’s largest nonwovens manufacturers with sites in Korea, China and Indonesia. Meanwhile, Fibertex continues be strong with its Malaysian plant and Mitsui Chemicals has a strong presence in Thailand. Meanwhile, companies ranging from Fitesa to First Quality to Avgol are investing heavily in China.

ANEX is organized by ANFA, the Asian Nonwoven Fabrics Association, which aims to take a more important role toward expanding the growth of the nonwovens business for the benefit of all members of the global industry. Membership in ANFA is open to any corporation or individual, which or who is engaged in the nonwovens-related industries and whose place of business is located in Asia.

More information: UBM Korea Corporation, 82-2-6715-5400; Fax: 82-2-432-5885; e-mail: [email protected].