- 20 September 2006 -

Long-expected price rise for nonwovens

According to figures released by EDANA, the international association serving nonwovens and related products industries, the average price of nonwovens has increased for the first time in many years by about 2% from E3.220 to E3.285 per kg. As a result the total turnover of the European nonwovens industry is estimated at around E4,610 million.

EDANA also says that production of nonwovens in Europe grew by just over 5% in 2005 to reach 1,403,000 tonnes. This compares with 1,336,000 tonnes in 2004, when the annual growth was 3.7%.

Polymer-based (spunmelt) nonwovens, on the other hand, witnessed an impressive growth with over 7.5% increase in 2005. Airlaid production, when compared to figures of 2004, has recorded a slight growth, mostly due to increase in deliveries to the hygiene sector.
EDANA estimates that the total growth of liquid filtration deliveries in 2005 was 11% (the consistent rate for the last two years), from 48.9 to 54.4 thousand tons.

Air and gas filtration as a category has grown by a further 6%, with still a majority of polymer-based nonwovens (over 53% within the responding companies) in the total of 33.8 thousand tonnes. This is one of the few end-uses where virtually all nonwoven (dry-laid chemically-bonded, needle-punched, wetlaid and spunlaid/meltblown) technologies are playing a role, EDANA maintains.

www.edana.org