Airlaid nonwovens: market challenges come from capacity management

The latest market report released by SmithersApex of the United States shows that in 2016, the global airlaid nonwovens market is expected to reach 1.64 billion U.S. dollars, and will reach 2 billion U.S. dollars before 2020. The report shows that the main application markets for airlaid non-woven fabrics are feminine hygiene products, adult incontinence products, wet wipes and environmentally friendly food pads, all of which show strong development momentum. North America and Europe are the regions with the highest utilization rate of airlaid nonwovens, while Asia is regarded as the fastest growing region for the airlaid nonwovens market.　　Industry analyst Felmange believes that the biggest challenge in the airlaid nonwovens industry is to reasonably deploy and control global production capacity. Around 2001, about 80% of airlaid non-woven fabric manufacturers expanded their production capacity, resulting in serious oversupply of products for a long time. This has also made the global airlaid nonwovens market investment slowdown and production lines shut down frequently in the past 3 to 5 years, leading the industry to gradually enter a state of tight supply.　　 Now, with the growth of the feminine hygiene products market in developing countries and the rapid increase of the aging population in developed countries, industry insiders and non-woven fabric manufacturers have stated that the market demand for airlaid non-woven fabrics will open up again. Especially in Asia, it will become a powerful driving force for the development of airlaid nonwovens.　　 EAM Group, an internationally renowned non-woven fabric manufacturer, has entered the Asian feminine hygiene market in early 2016. 'Usually, to enter a new application field, customers need to stay away from old style products. Changes in economic conditions sometimes lead people to consider returning to previous products. However, once consumers have experienced thinner and higher-performance products, it is difficult for them to look back. 'EAM Group Vice President of Marketing Lori Wynn said.　　 Brazil Fitesa Group also pays attention to the airlaid nonwoven material market. Lei Liwei, the company's global marketing strategy business development director, said that with the improvement of consumers' economic conditions, changes in cultural habits, and increased personal income, feminine hygiene products will increase the demand for absorbent airlaid nonwovens.　　 In addition to feminine hygiene products, the global adult incontinence product market is also booming. Fermanger said that the transition from large fluff pulp cores to airlaid nonwovens is the development trend of feminine hygiene products. This situation will also occur in adult incontinence products, because consumers are always looking for more Thinner, more comfortable product.　　Lei Liwei is also optimistic about the prospects of airlaid non-woven fabrics in the adult incontinence product market. 'The personal income of consumers in developed countries is widespread. As we have seen, the strong growth of adult incontinence products will appear in Western Europe and North America. In the future, the adult incontinence product market will place additional demands on airlaid non-woven fabrics. 'He explained.　　 Felmange pointed out that although the demand for airlaid non-woven fabrics may increase significantly in the future, it is best for companies not to rush to invest in new production lines. 'The construction cycle of the new production line is relatively long. It takes one year to build a factory, six months to put into production, and one and a half years to produce benefits. Only a few companies have the ability to guarantee that new investment in large-scale production lines will have a certain impact on the market. Otherwise, it will be difficult to ensure that there will be no shortage of capital chains based on market expectations. Even the Georgia-Pacific Group and Glatfelter Group, the world's largest airlaid nonwovens manufacturers, do not currently have any expansion plans. 'Filmanger said.