The investment marks a significant expansion of Ahlstrom’s product offerings in the South American market for industrial air, industrial liquid, and fuel filtration, including products currently produced in European and North American markets.
“The new laminator increases our manufacturing capabilities and brings needed flexibility to supply our local customers with the best-in-class filtration solutions,” said Andre Pereira, Ahlstrom’s head of sales, Filtration, Latin America. “Efficient supply chain management prevents interruptions to the supply stream, and shorter transport distances reduce carbon emissions and lower environmental impact.”
Combining filtration materials by lamination offers several advantages: enhanced efficiency, extended service intervals, and reduced energy consumption of filtration units. Laminated fuel filtration materials adapted for EURO 5 and EURO 6 standards optimize fuel consumption and reduce the emissions of harmful pollutants. In industrial filtration applications, multilayer materials support the trend for higher filtration performances and the ability to purify air and liquids to protect people and the environment.
“The new lamination line supports our purpose to strengthen the global leadership in filtration,” said Willy Bordignon, Ahlstrom VP, Filtration Americas. “In the last few years, we have completed a new saturator and a glass fiber tissue line in Madisonville (Kentucky, USA), a machine rebuild in Binzhou (China), capacity expansions in Fabriano (Italy) and Malmedy (Belgium), and a new production line in Turin (Italy).”
Ahlstrom’s Louveira plant is in São Paulo state and employs 120 people. The plant manufactures filter media for transportation and industrial segments and is certified with IATF, ISO9001-2015, ISO45001, and ISO14001.