The production line uses newly developed proprietary spinning technology and will increase the Berlin plant’s spunbond lightweight capacity by more than 40%.
Johns Manville, a Berkshire Hathaway company, has invested more than E32 million to build the line, which is part of a strategic plan to support the growing demand for high-end polyester filtration media.
“This new capacity at our Berlin plant will benefit Johns Manville’s global customer base,” said Mary Rhinehart, Johns Manville president and CEO. “Customers will have even greater access to our high-quality filtration products and to a new generation of spunbond filter media for cabin air, air pollution control and liquid filtration applications. This new lines also puts Johns Manville in a prime position to handle continued growth and customer demand in the many global markets we serve.”
The Berlin site was founded in 1919 as Spinnstofffabrik Zehlendorf AG. In 1960, Hoechst acquired the factory and in 1967 changed the production from Perlon (artificial silk) to polyester spunbond and filaments. In 1999, Johns Manville acquired the Berlin plant from Hoechst Trevira. The plant produces Evalith polyester spunbond nonwovens mainly for the filtration, roofing and geotextile industry.
