By Raymond Chimhandamba
Handas Consulting (Africa Market Nonwoven/Hygiene Specialist)
Johannesburg, South Africa

Increasing investment in Africa’s nonwovens sector by global players and other foreign producers is one of the key indicators of the potential that the sector offers. Kohan’s Textile Journal points out that the nonwoven sector growth has been in line with periods of high economic growth in the region and also notes that key drivers for the sector are rising spending power of the local population as well as growth in the medical and hygiene sectors and in the plastic industry. Increased awareness, urbanization and population growth will also increase demand. Africa’s growing construction sector will also increase demand for geotextiles and roofing while the growing automotives industry will feed into the demand for nonwoven-based filtration media. The aging population will boost demand for medical and surgical products.

Key global players like Fibertex, PFNonwovens and Spunchem are among some of the key global players that have production facilities in South Africa. Fibertex South Africa is a leading manufacturer and supplier of a comprehensive range of geotextile products throughout Africa, while PFNonwovens has recently invested about $40 million to expand its nonwovens facility in Cape Town, which serves the hygiene industry for South Africa and the rest of the region. Spunchem also services the hygiene sector as well as the nonwovens needs for the agricultural sector and medical sectors with meltblown.

Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria are the leading hubs for the demand of nonwovens in the East, Southern and Western sub-regions respectively. Kenya leads the demand for imported nonwoven raw materials and finished goods in East Africa. In the absorbent hygiene space, Kenya has its own local players such as Interconsumer Products Limited and has attracted China’s Sunda, which has built the biggest absorbent hygiene factory in East Africa. One can expect other global players to follow in the short to medium term.

Both Kimberly-Clark and Proctor & Gamble are very active in South Africa’s absorbent hygiene products sector, together with several other significant local players that either lead categories, such as Unsgaard, the market leader in the pantyliners category, or are in the top three or significant players in private label, like National Pride, Li’l Masters and Cleopatra Products. In Nigeria, Kimberly-Clark has recently commissioned its absorbent hygiene facility. Hayat has also been manufacturing its diapers locally for several years and is now a market leader in the category. Still, in Nigeria, local player Wemy Industries leads the market in wet wipes and face masks, while other local players like Eleganza Industries keep increasing marketshare within the absorbent hygiene products sector. Andritz will soon supply two baby diaper lines to Fouani Nigeria, indicating the growing demand for nonwovens in that country and the region, as well as the localization drive for nonwovens absorbent hygiene products.

Ethiopia’s massive population, the second biggest on the continent, attracted another leading global player, Ontex, which installed a high speed baby diaper line a few years ago. In Ghana, Sunda boasts local manufacturing capability in the baby diaper, sanitary pad, diaper pants and panty liner categories. SAH (Societe D’Articles Hygeniques), a rapidly growing husband and wife group with roots in Tunisia, is also setting up new manufacturing sites in Sub-Saharan Africa. With manufacturing sites in Cote D’Ivoire and Senegal and a previous focus on francophone Africa, SAH is fast expanding into English-speaking Africa in more recent years, starting with distribution capability.

Sanitary pads are not readily available for young girls in the region, especially in rural and/or remote places, because of cost. As a result, girls in most parts of the region miss up to four or five days of school every month, creating a gender and even generational disadvantage. As a result, most governments (Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe and several others) have done away with VAT on sanitary pads. This development is likely to drive the growth of the category even further. Adult incontinence is another growing opportunity in the region, driven by growing awareness. Local production in the main regional hubs is also growing. In Nigeria, Dr Browns is a Wemy Industries brand that has been around for decades and is well established. Previously only available via the pharmacies regionally, adult incontinence products are slowly becoming more readily available in retail and the price is gradually dropping. As the products become more available in retail, an optimal price point will gradually be reached and this will drive demand and raise awareness even further. The growth of the retail sector goes hand in hand with the growth of AHP’s in the region, owing to the cyclical nature of AHP products which ensures that consumers need them at regular intervals and for set durations of their lifetimes.

Most raw materials for absorbent hygiene products in the region are still imported, from South America, Egypt, China or South Africa. Egypt takes full advantage of its membership of COMESA (Common Market For Eastern and Southern Africa) economic block to export to mainly East African markets.

Nonwovens Specialization in the Africa Region

I have been fascinated with the level of specialization of some of the nonwovens players on the African continent, particularly within the Sub-Saharan Africa region. In South Africa, Gelvenor Textiles focuses on technically engineered fabrics and has been around since 1965. Areas of specialization include a variety of aeronautical textiles, industrial fabrics, protective workwear, technical apparel and high performance outdoor textile fabrics. Over the past five decades, the company has innovated a wide range of internationally acclaimed and trusted fabric solutions. The fabric innovations are tested by the independent Advanced Textile Services (ATS) to prove that the products meet the stringent internationally accredited standards.

Gelvenor Textiles is the first African manufacturer of aeronautical fabrics and has pioneered the manufacturing of aeronautical fabric to the African market as far back as 1967, and has continued to innovate in this field, focusing on parachutes, hot air balloons, paraglider and aircraft coverings. This company from the Southern tip of Africa has made its mark in innovative fabric solutions that have shaped and influenced both the South African and international textile industries. Their achievements include pioneering a water-based coating for parachutes, producing South Africa’s first flame retardant fabric and—since 1994—holding the title of Africa’s largest weaver of aramid fabrics for ballistic protection, according to their website.

In the plastics space, Da Run Fa Chemical Fibre is a producer of regen polyester staple fiber and PET straps for packaging for the local and export markets. Da Run Fa‘s manufacturing process consumes about 2000 tons of Regen PET per month as feedstock and by creating this sustainable demand for regen PET, the company adds to the PET value chain and contributes to South Africa’s efforts towards a circular economy.

According to PETCO’s website, the industry partner, Da Run Fa’s innovative use of recycled PET bottles creates a lucrative purpose for a product which would otherwise have reached the end of its lifecycle. This also has a positive indirect impact on the economy as marginalized communities start collecting recyclables and develop recycling businesses or cooperatives that create job opportunities. South Africa has one of the highest unemployment rates on the continent, and by global standards, the plastic recycling industry has provided one the best income generators for families and the unemployed, making South Africa one of the countries with the highest recycling rates globally, above 40%, according to Plastics SA, a plastics industry body.

Sen Li Da Chemical Fibre, through its two main divisions: a Recycling Division and a Fibre Division, has responded to the increasing demand by consumers and industry for plastic recycling by using post-consumer PET for the opportunities of the hollow conjugated fibers market. In 2008, Sen Li Da set up a PET recycling and fiber manufacturing plant in Kwazulu-Natal. At first, the plant was able to recycle 19,500 tons of PET and convert 13,600 tons of PET to fibers per year by purchasing and using post-consumer PET products for this purpose.

Brits Nonwoven, another specialist nonwovens player in South Africa, is a leading South African specialist nonwoven producer that services a wide range of industries and applications in both local and international markets. Their products include Isotherm thermal insulation for geyser blankets to ensure that house owners save power by ensuring their geysers do not lose too much heat unnecessarily in the ceiling in winter. Electric blankets help to ensure that this does not happen.

Acoustisorb is a light, compressible sound absorption material manufactured from thermally bonded polyester, providing excellent acoustic properties and is the result of extensive research and development. Granric Insulation manufactures thermal insulation and sound absorption products for commercial, industrial, residential and air-conditioning applications, with a wide range of products to meet customers’ specific needs. The Lalakahle range, which means Sleep Well in the local language, offers single foam replacement mattress units, providing a comfortable and affordable mattress.

It is clear that nonwovens will be a growing sector in Africa and will be an interesting place to watch in the next three to five years, both from a finished product point of view to equipment installation as well as localization of raw materials manufacturing.