Welcome to the 2021 edition of Nonwovens Industry’s Southeast Asia issue. What a year we have had, not just in nonwovens, but in the world.

The past 12 months have been 100% dominated by one topic, the Coronavirus pandemic, and this could not be more true in the global nonwovens industry as demand for products like face masks, medical gowns and wipes have led to unprecedented investment.

While 12 months ago, talk in Southeast Asia largely centered around new investments, these lines were primarily feeding growing demand for disposable baby diapers in up-and-coming markets like Indonesia and India. Construction on many of these lines has been delayed due to the Coronavirus, which has made international travel difficult, if not impossible. Still, companies like Avgol (in India), Toray (in India) and Fitesa (in Thailand) continue to remain bullish about Southeast Asian hygiene markets, even as significant attention has turned to two key nonwovens market—face masks and medical garments. Not only are these products in hot demand; their requirements are stricter than ever before.

These tightened requirements will require more advanced technology throughout the supply chain meaning that companies who wish to supply the machines that make the materials and their raw materials will be under greater scrutiny than ever before. Likewise, an unprecedented level of investment in the lines that make these materials and the nonwovens that supply them, will be in extremely tight competition over the next several years.

It is too soon to know what the post-pandemic world will look like in Southeast Asia. Some say that the creation of local supply chains will mean that countries, both in Asia and around the world, will be forced to lessen their reliance on China, but others say that machinery investment in China is booming so nonwovens production should continue to grow there.

Either way, there is no doubt the need for medical supplies like gowns and face masks will continue to be strong as the world continues to battle the Coronavirus and, later, as it works to be better prepared for future medical crises.


Karen McIntyre
Editor