Israeli nonwovens producer Avgol Nonwovens has announced it will build a new Reicofil 4 spunmelt line at a new site in Dimona, Israel. The five-beam, 4.2-meter line will add about 18,000 tons to Avgol’s global capacity.

According to executives, the new investment will meet demand for nonwovens in the hygiene markets in the Middle East and Europe. Avgol also has an operation in Tel Aviv but has not added a new line to this site in several years.

“We haven’t made an Israeli investment in a long time and we are still headquartered there and traded on the Tel Aviv stock exchange,” says vice president of global sales Shane Vincent. “It made sense for us to expand there.”

Avgol is also in the process of adding a similarly configured Reicofil line at its North American operation in Mocksville, NC. This new line, the site’s fifth, is expected to start up later this year.