Suominen is in the planning stages of investing in a new wetlaid line in North America, the company has announced. The move would be the largest single initiative in Suominen’s growth investment program announced in December 2014. Suominen already makes wetlaid nonwovens for a number of high value segments.

According to the company’s initial plans, the new line would serve several higher value-adding end-use applications and would be essential for the execution of Suominen’s growth strategy. Suominen has chosen North America for the new line because it offers  strong demand for high value-added nonwovens as well as attractive growth forecasts.

“I am extremely pleased to announce this major move in the execution of our growth strategy. Since we are still in the preparation phase of the investment project, several important decisions, including selection of machine suppliers, are still to be made. Consequently, we cannot yet comment on the total value of the investment, but it is safe to conclude that this constitutes the most significant single initiative in the €30–50 million Euro growth investment program we announced in December,” says president and CEO Nina Kopola.

Suominen’s growth investment program is key for its growth strategy from 2015-2017. Initial steps in this plan included upgrades at its plants in Alicante, Spain and Paulinia, Brazil. The value of these initial initiatives was estimated at €4 million. Suominen is also looking at expanding its production capacity in Nakkila, Finland.

In Alicante, the investment is targeted to serve  globally growing markets of industrial wipes and medical nonwovens., while in Paulinia, Suominen will expand its product offerings to further strengthen its position in the growing South American wipes market and  enable supply to medical and hygiene nonwovens segments.