Much has been written in this magazine about the overwhelming demand for, and resulting investment in, meltblown nonwovens. Considered the holy grail of N95 face mask and respirators, this material was in short supply at the start of the Coronavirus pandemic and companies responded quickly by investing in new meltblown lines around the world.

However, meltblown is not the only nonwovens technology that has seen a boom caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. Hot demand for medical fabrics, combined with an already tight supply picture, has meant aggressive investment in the spunmelt market also.

According to figures provided by Price Hanna Consultants, over 200,000 tons of spunmelt capacity was commissioned last year and another 166,000 tons is scheduled for this year. This capacity is truly global with lines going in the U.S., Europe, India, China, Southeast Asia, Japan and South America. Investment is expected to continue its upward trajectory until 2024 when supply starts to outpace demand.

This new capacity is not only increasing the size of the global nonwovens industry, it is also allowing manufacturers to offer substrates with new technologies. From never before seen softness to ultra-thin, yet strong substrates to the ability to process a variety of raw materials, new nonwovens technologies continue to open up doors for producers and converters alike.

Beyond spunmelt and meltblown, investment is also continuing across other nonwovens technologies like spunlace—see page 14 for Berry’s latest investment news—and needlepunch. Associate editor Tara Olivo talks about what is changing in needlepunch technology and how more companies are choosing this technology in more and more applications (see page 38). During the next few months, we will see a number of new needlepunch lines pop up in places as varied as Poland, South Carolina and China.

As these new lines pop up, no matter what the technology, they will certainly change the landscape of the nonwovens industry as we know it.


Karen McIntyre
Editor
[email protected]