International Top Companies Report

In 2025, at least for the global nonwovens industry, the picture was largely the same as it was the prior year. In a global economy marked by uncertainties around trade, raw material supply, energy costs, inflation and more, many of the world’s major nonwovens producers report a challenging environment, which have led to slower investment strategies and an overall cautious mindset by many of the companies profiled in this report—regardless of where they are based. 

Despite this uncertainty, many companies have begun to show some signs of optimism—often in the form of investment or acquisitions. Kimberly-Clark continues to redefine its business through the acquisition of Kenvue; Freudenberg has acquired a Chinese wound care specialist; Fibertex Nonwovens is on track to complete a new line in the Czech Republic later this year and Tenowo reports it has upgraded its spunlace operations. 

Interestingly, where investment continues to be strong is within air-through bonding. This year, China’s Kingsafe and Beijing Dayuan, as well as TWE, in India, and Shalag Nonwovens in the U.S., have new lines within this technology segment in response to demand for extremely soft, premium materials for hygiene applications.

As it has been in the past few years, sustainability continues to be a buzzword within nonwovens. Producers are looking at ways to lessen their product weights, integrate more sustainable raw materials and reduce the impact of their operations on the environment. While these efforts are driven to some degree by legislative actions like the SUP Directive in the European Union, they are also the result of consumer and retailer demand for greener product options.

By The Numbers

This year’s top companies report includes 40 nonwovens producers located around the world. While many of the leading companies are based in established markets like the U.S., Japan and Europe, companies from less developed areas are increasing their role, and this year, companies from developing countries like Brazil, Turkey, China, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Czech Republic have continued to grow their size and their scope in the nonwovens industry. Many of these companies are focusing on growth, meaning their rankings will only grow in future years.

Each company in this survey is ranked on the basis of the prior year (2025) sales, which are translated from local currency to U.S. dollars. In several cases, sales are estimated, and in all instances, these sales figures do not reflect economic factors like currency fluctuations or raw material prices, which can skew the ranking. 

While ranking by annual sales figures is necessary to the nature of this report, it is really the activities of these companies—as reported in their profiles—that should be considered.