Helsinki, Finland
www.ahlstrom.com
2024 Nonwovens Sales: $1.6 billion

Key Personnel
Helen Mets, president and CEO; Jorn Jensen, CFO; Daniele Borlatto, EVP Filtration division; Emanuelle Picard, EVP Building Materials division; Mark Ushpol, EVP Food & Consumer Packaging division; Sophie Haan, EVP Technical Materials

Plants
Belgium: Malmedy; Brazil: Louveira; China: Binzhou, Longkou; Finland: Karhula, Mikkeli, Tampere; France: Bousbecque, Brignoud, Orleans, Pont-Audemer, Saint-Severin; Germany: Osnabrück, Bärenstein; India: Mundra; Italy: Turin, Fabriano; Russia: Tver; South Korea: Hyon Poong; Sweden: Ställdalen, Falun; U.K.: Chirnside, Radcliffe; U.S.: Bethune, SC; Madisonville, KY; Mt. Holly Springs, PA; Taylorville, IL; Windsor Locks, CT

Ahlstrom achieved record-high profitability in 2024, with an all-time high comparable EBITDA margin of 15.2% and record-level comparable EBITDA and operating cash flow. This strong performance was driven by strategic initiatives including divisional restructuring, portfolio strengthening through acquisitions and divestments  and increased innovation, which resulted in 31% of sales from products launched in the last five years. The company also made significant progress in sustainability, receiving a Platinum Medal from EcoVadis and having its net-zero by 2050 target verified by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).

Effective May 1, 2024, Ahlstrom began operating through a simplified divisional structure with three divisions—Filtration and Life Science, Food and Consumer Packaging and Protective Materials—instead of five. Under the new structure, the former Filtration and Healthcare divisions have merged to form Filtration and Life Sciences division, Food and Consumer Packaging remains the same, and the former Building Materials and Technical Materials divisions now form the new Protective Materials division. The new divisional structure ensures that Ahlstrom’s technology can be better deployed to address global trends with safe and sustainable specialty solutions. In addition, product management will be elevated in the business units and across the divisions to further accelerate the transition towards a more specialty portfolio and to support the journey to safe and sustainable innovation leadership.

Additionally, the company defined five strategic pillars: Growth Acceleration, Safe & Sustainable Innovation Leadership, Operational Strength, Cash Discipline and Engaged Employees. Together, these strategic pillars enable each of Ahlstrom’s business units to advance their ability to lead in existing markets or to enter new markets in response to one or more global trends.

In other news, the company announced the closure of its Bousbecque plant in France, with a consultation process initiated in April and a final announcement in July 2024, which included a significant impairment loss of €9.8 million for the second quarter of 2024. The decision comes after an active search and in-depth dialogue with local stakeholders, which failed to yield solutions that would allow the group or a potential buyer to continue operating the plant. As a result, Ahlstrom will proceed with the closure of the plant. The plant has an annual capacity of approximately 12,000 tons and employs 117 people. Ahlstrom continues to explore options to divest the property.

Despite this closure, investment continues to be a major growth strategy for Ahlstrom. The maker of specialty nonwovens continued to expand its filtration media offerings with the addition of a state-of-the-art production line for molecular filtration media at its Turin site in Italy. This major investment strengthens Ahlstrom’s leadership in the molecular filtration market and enhances its ability to serve the growing global demand for high-performance specialty materials.

Equipped with the latest technologies, the new production line offers a high degree of customization and design flexibility. It enables precise tuning of adsorptive performance through detailed control of adsorbent types, blends and content levels. The investment is complemented by a molecular filtration test bench to better support filtration manufacturers in developing high-performance filtration solutions.

“This new asset reflects our ambition to drive innovation in filtration and takes our molecular filtration expertise to the next level,” says Giuseppe Costa, vice president, Global Filtration. “By expanding our capabilities, we are ensuring that our customers continue to receive the reliable, high-quality solutions they expect from us.”

In another move to support its filtration business, in December 2024, Ahlstrom, acquired ErtelAlsop, a New York-based manufacturer of high-performance liquid depth filter media serving end-markets in the pharmaceutical, food & beverage, flavors and fragrances, and chemical industries.

As a global leader in specialty materials within lab and life sciences applications, the acquisition strengthens Ahlstrom’s position in the life science filtration market and allows Ahlstrom to enter the depth filtration space. It also marks a key milestone on Ahlstrom’s growth transformation journey and its vision to be the sustainable specialty materials company.

In other new technology developments, Ahlstrom has launched a new Absorbent Glass Mat (AGM) battery separator platform, manufactured at its state-of-the-art facility in Turin. It reinforces Ahlstrom’s position as a trusted partner to battery manufacturers, delivering high-performance, customizable AGM separator solutions for the growing global demand for reliable and efficient energy storage solutions.

As the demand for high-performance energy storage solutions accelerates, AGM lead acid batteries continue to be a cornerstone of high-performance power solutions. They enable rapid charge and discharge cycles across automotive, renewable energy, telecommunications and industrial power backup applications. AGM separators—essential to battery safety, efficiency and longevity—are evolving to meet the industry’s growing need for higher energy efficiency, durability and sustainability.

Next-generation AGM separators deliver unmatched product uniformity, optimized fiber dispersion and superior electrolyte retention, which ensure low electrical resistance and enhanced charge acceptance for maximized battery efficiency and lifespan.

The new flexible platform allows customization from 100% micro glass to advanced micro glass-synthetic fiber blends, which enables battery manufacturers to tailor separator properties to specific battery needs.

Plants: Belgium: Malmedy; Brazil: Louveira; China: Binzhou, Longkou; Finland: Karhula, Mikkeli, Tampere; France: Bousbecque, Brignoud, Orleans, Pont-Audemer, Saint-Severin; Germany: Osnabrück, Bärenstein; India: Mundra; Italy: Turin, Fabriano; Russia: Tver; South Korea: Hyon Poong; Sweden: Ställdalen, Falun; U.K.: Chirnside, Radcliffe; U.S.: Bethune, SC; Madisonville, KY; Mt. Holly Springs, PA; Taylorville, IL; Windsor Locks, CT

Investment continues to be strong within Ahlstrom’s filtration business. In June, the company completed a €2 million investment for a new laminator at its Louveira, Brazil, plant, marking a significant expansion of its product offerings to the South American market for industrial air, industrial liquid and fuel filtration, including products currently produced in Europe and North America. Combining filtration materials by lamination offers several advantages: enhanced efficiency, extended service intervals and reduced energy consumption of filtration units.

Additionally, in January Ahlstrom invested in karen. The new line is being designed to produce the highest-performance adsorbent materials for premium filtration applications, including next-generation cabin air and fuel cell air intake, as well as a complete range for HVAC and cleanrooms. It will enable Ahlstrom to support its customers’ filtration application development as well as the transition to electric vehicles.

According to the company, this investment is made in synergy with Ahlstrom’s Fine Fiber platform in Turin, which will be upgraded to produce HEPA filtration layers. Fine Fiber media can be combined with molecular filtration materials also to deliver the best protection against the finest particles.

“This new capability to produce molecular filtration solutions comes on top of recent investments in Europe, which reinforce our ability to better serve our customers by combining materials and technologies in multi-layer concepts,” states Giuseppe Costa, vice president, filtration EMEA & Asia.

In South Korea, Ahlstrom completed new calendaring and embossing capabilities in September 2023, allowing it to deliver synthetic filtration media with extended lifetimes. A longer filter lifetime combined with outstanding durability is a key feature helping to sustain filter operations and boost performance. This not only saves costs associated with frequent filter replacements but also reduces energy consumption and minimizes environmental impacts by lowering emissions.

“The new calendering and embossing capabilities further advance synthetic filter media solutions. They improve durability and open a wide range of possibilities for extended performance, as well as improving the sustainability of filtration units,” comments Kathrin Hueppe, head of Filtration, Asia.

These investments continue to allow Ahlstrom to focus on new product development within the ever-changing market for filtration. The global water purification market sees continuous advancements in technologies and applications, creating an increased focus on more sustainable solutions to address the growing concerns about water quality and the need for reliable water purification solutions.

Ahlstrom’s new water filtration solution for enhanced particulate removal in pre-filtration applications addresses this need. It can be used as a stand-alone or as a complement to the existing Ahlstrom Disruptor and Hollytex ranges and is suitable for both residential and industrial uses. It removes contaminants such as rust, sand and other debris that may end up in water pipelines, ensuring the highest quality of water. The pre-filter delivers superior performance and quality consistency when used as a pleated filter design.

In the engine filtration market, Ahlstrom has introduced a new dual-layer filter media technology, available globally, that is a perfect solution to comply with future market needs. The dual-layer design offers up to double dust holding capacity compared to the single-layer design, as each layer serves a distinct purpose to optimize the overall retention of particles in the depth of the material.

In automotive engine air intake applications, the technology has proven to extend by over 50% the filter lifetime in the same configuration. It also offers the possibility to reduce both size and weight of the filter element in vehicles where these parameters are important.

“Leveraging our advanced manufacturing processes and know-how, Ahlstrom’s dual-layer filter media are setting new standards for filtration performance on the market,” says Tamara Quatrano, vice president, research and development and product development for the Filtration division. “They can be adapted to different environments, and they not only purify and protect but also contribute to a more sustainable future,” she continues.

In other recent new product introductions, in June, Ahlstrom launched sustainable, fluoro-free solutions for fiber-based solutions into a wide range of industrial air filtration applications to support filter manufacturers in creating products with long-lasting filtration performance without the use of fluorochemicals. These materials are ideal for gas turbine air intake, air pollution control, heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) applications. The new range of materials offers water-repellent properties, which increase the durability and stability of the final filter in wet conditions. In global filtration markets, hydrophobic properties are essential to maintaining the highest filtration performance in challenging environments.

Another important focus area for investment and innovation has been Ahlstrom’s medical business. The company recently received the FDA 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for Reliance Fusion, a next-generation sterilization wrap that helps increase efficiency in the sterilization of surgical equipment trays at hospitals. This material allows a significant reduction in drying time, reduces the likelihood of wet packs, and leads to increased efficiency in the sterilization of trays at hospitals’ Central Sterilization Service Department (CSSD), thanks to higher throughput and savings in energy and labor.

Ahlstrom is also a leading provider of sustainable specialty materials for the food and beverage markets. Its PureLid product is a fiber-based lid offering for single-serve coffee capsules, which acts as a high-performing, home-compostable alternative to aluminum or plastic lids used in coffee capsules. “It was a substantial challenge to transition from industrial compostable solutions to home compostable ones while maintaining the high-performance standards of our coffee capsule lidding solutions and the crucial oxygen barrier,” says Philippe Sevoz, vice president of the Beverage & Casing business.

As market demand for high-performance, sustainable building materials is increasing, Ahlstrom also continues to grow its glass fiber tissue business and strengthen its manufacturing platform globally by completing a major investment at its plant in Madisonville, KY, U.S.

Plants: Belgium: Malmedy; Brazil: Louveira; China: Binzhou, Longkou; Finland: Karhula, Mikkeli, Tampere; France: Bousbecque, Brignoud, Orleans, Pont-Audemer, Saint-Severin; Germany: Osnabrück, Bärenstein; India: Mundra; Italy: Turin, Fabriano; Russia: Tver; South Korea: Hyon Poong; Sweden: Ställdalen, Falun; U.K.: Chirnside, Radcliffe; U.S.: Bethune, SC; Madisonville, KY; Mt. Holly Springs, PA; Taylorville, IL; Windsor Locks, CT
Processes: Wetlaid (Trinitex), microglass, nanotechnology (Disruptor), composites, creping/micrexing, spunmelt/spunbond, parchmentizing, coating, calendaring
Major Markets: Transportation filtration, diagnostic filtration, water filtration, wall coverings, building, automotive, food packaging, beverage, medical, flooring and masking tape

Since October 2022, the company formerly known as Ahlstrom-Munksjö has been operating under the name Ahlstrom. The name change follows the owner reorganization of its Décor business, which is now operating as an independent company under the Munksjö name.

In June 2022, Ahlstrom announced its intention to accelerate the pace of its strategy execution and set a goal to become the preferred sustainable specialty materials provider through a clearly defined purpose, sharper strategic focus and ambitious sustainability targets. A new operating model and reporting structure, effective as of July 2022, was implemented to effectively carry out the work.

The company now operates through five end-markets and corresponding business areas—filtration, food and consumer packaging, healthcare, building materials and technical materials.

“This is a natural step for us as the name Ahlstrom has more than 170 years meritorious history. We are serving five growing markets and are leading the development in all these areas among the top companies,” said former president and CEO Hans Sohlström. “We will continue to operate through 38 plants in 13 countries and with some 7000 employees who represent more than 50 nationalities.”

Within filtration, earlier this year Ahlstrom announced it would add calendering capabilities at its filtration media production plant in Hyun Poong, South Korea. This technology further advances synthetic filter media solutions by improving mechanical strength and opening a wide range of possibilities in terms of filtration performances. The investment was fully operational during the second quarter of this year.

New synthetic materials have more surface area available, therefore extending the filter lifetime and offering a more sustainable alternative to competing materials. The media can be used for both air and liquid filtration applications including air pollution control, oil, and fuel filtration. Products are easier to convert, which offers further savings for filter manufacturers. These capabilities reinforce Ahlstrom’s purpose to deliver products that purify and protect.

“This investment is another example of our commitment to our customers in the Asia-Pacific region,” says Kathrin Hueppe, head of Asia, Filtration. “Improving our capabilities in the Hyun Poong plant allows us to serve their growing needs in high-performance filtration materials.”

“With this investment, we are expanding our technology capabilities as well as our competences in the field of full synthetic materials. We are eager to engage with our customers in new developments, which will further improve filtration performances and contribute to energy savings. Durability and the ease of converting contribute to the lifetime of filters, which is at the core of our strategic path in sustainability,” says Tamara Quatrano, VP, research and product development Filtration.

Meanwhile, in new product news, Ahlstrom has a new range of renewable and sustainable filtration solutions for automotive applications. Ahlstrom ECO is a technology supporting the increasing sustainability demands of the global transportation market and offering a new choice for filter manufacturers.

This renewable and sustainable filter media utilizes lignin-based* impregnation, replacing fossil-based resin. The resin solution contains a significant amount of bio-based, renewable lignin, while the mechanical properties and the durability of the filter media, even in challenging environments, are maintained.

According to Ahlstrom’s initial estimates, the new lignin-based impregnated filter media displays a lower carbon footprint than a standard fossil-based resin media. Additionally, the lignin-based impregnation recipe brings a significant reduction, between 50-70%, of formaldehyde emissions during the curing process.

Ahlstrom is partnering with Tecfil, an automotive filter manufacturer in Latin America, who is incorporating Ahlstrom ECO solution into a final filter design.  “Ahlstrom ECO is a perfect example of how we are living up to our purpose to purify and protect with every fiber for a sustainable world, and our commitment to innovate fiber-based specialty solutions to our customer’s needs and to help them solve some of the global challenges, “says Quatrano. “We are pleased with the joint activities with Tecfil and proud to be able to offer this new, renewable solution to the market.”

Additionally, Ahlstrom has developed a Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) filter media portfolio using its brand-new production machine in Turin, Italy, supporting its customers in their ambition to offer best performing and premium quality filters to the most demanding end-uses. The uniqueness of Ahlstrom’s offering comes from state-of-the-art manufacturing technologies which deliver best reliability in performance as well as lower environmental impact.

The Turin investment, which included additional capacity in both filtration and energy storage solutions, comprises a state-of-the-art line specifically designed to produce glass microfiber media. The investment follows the restart of one of the saturators in the Turin plant, enabling Ahlstrom to deliver additional capacity and effectively support customer demands for high-performance filtration media.

Within Ahlstrom’s healthcare business, the company introduced Reliance Fusion, a next-generation simultaneous sterilization wrap that helps increase efficiency in the sterilization of surgical equipment trays at hospitals. Reliance Fusion incorporates the best properties of cellulose-based and polypropylene-based materials. The wraps combine wetlaid technology with high-filtration SMS (Spunbond-Meltblown-Spunbond). This material allows a significant reduction in drying time, reduces the likelihood of wet packs and leads to increased efficiency in the sterilization of trays at hospitals’ Central Sterilization Service Department (CSSD), thanks to higher throughput, and savings in energy and labor.

The Reliance Fusion portfolio consists of two simultaneous sterilization wrap options which can eliminate the need for multiple types of wraps, contributing to the simplification of the sterilization process and greatly reducing the number of products needed in stock. Reliance Fusion Light is for light-to-medium duty applications, and Reliance Fusion Heavy is for heavy-duty applications. Both options offer superior pre-vacuum steam drying time performance under high tray weight conditions.

“Honoring Ahlstrom’s rich history and decades of experience in nonwovens manufacturing, we are thrilled to announce the launch of Reliance Fusion – a solution to reduce wet packs and gain efficiency within sterile processing. We are confident that Reliance Fusion will have a positive impact within healthcare, improving operational efficiencies and patient outcomes while empowering healthcare professionals to deliver the highest standard of care,” says Kim Anders, VP Medical Business.

Within its wallcovering business, Ahlstrom remains on track in expanding production capacity at its Malmedy plant in Belgium, specialized in the production of nonwovens for wallcovering sometime this year. The €10 million investment, announced in January 2020, will double the capacity of the plant and diversifying the production to also cover filtration materials. The investment will create some 40 new jobs locally.

In other investment news, Ahlstrom is investing €15 million for new technology and converting its existing boilers at its Mosinee and Rhinelander plants in Wisconsin to reduce its carbon emissions and landfill waste.

Plants: Belgium: Malmedy; Brazil: Louveira; China: Binzhou, Longkou; Finland: Karhula, Mikkeli, Tampere; France: Bousbecque, Brignoud, Orleans, Pont-Audemer, Saint-Severin; Germany: Osnabrück, Bärenstein; India: Mundra; Italy: Turin, Fabriano; Russia: Tver; South Korea: Hyon Poong; Sweden: Ställdalen, Falun; U.K.: Chirnside, Radcliffe; U.S.: Bethune, SC; Madisonville, KY; Mt. Holly Springs, PA; Taylorville, IL; Windsor Locks, CT
Processes: Wetlaid (Trinitex), microglass, nanotechnology (Disruptor), composites, creping/micrexing, spunmelt/spunbond, parchmentizing, coating, calendaring
Major Markets: Transportation filtration, diagnostic filtration, water filtration, wall coverings, building, automotive, food packaging, beverage, medical, flooring and masking tape

Following the divestment of the majority of its Décor business, which is scheduled for the third quarter this year, Ahlstrom-Munksjo will change its business name back to Ahlstrom. At the same time, the company will accelerate its pace to become a preferred sustainable specialty materials company, capitalizing on megatrends such as higher air/water quality requirements, restrictions on the use of harmful chemicals, increasing health awareness as well as plastic-to-paper substitution.

“We are now accelerating the pace of strategy execution to build a stronger company for a sustainable future and capture the significant opportunities both to grow and improve profitability. Our strategic ambition for 2025 is to become the leader in combining fibers into performance materials that serve our purpose to Purify and Protect, with Every Fiber, for a Sustainable World. Sharper strategic focus, more ambitious sustainability targets, and a tailored operating model will enable us to effectively address attractive and distinctive end markets to further enhance our competitive advantages and value creation for our stakeholders,” says president and CEO Hans Sohlström.

To allow it to continue to successfully manage a broad portfolio of attractive niche businesses, supported by a tailored operating model, effective as of July 1, 2022, the group serves five growing and distinctive end markets, also forming the basis for five divisions—filtration, food and consumer packaging, healthcare, building material and technical materials—allowing for significant organic and inorganic growth. The divisions will be supported by global functions and centers of excellence for scale, synergies and excellence.

Within the filtration segment, Ahlstrom will continue to benefit from an ambitious investment strategy. Most recently, the company started production on additional capacity in both filtration and energy storage materials at its plant in Turin, Italy. By successfully expanding manufacturing facilities, Ahlstrom is making a strong commitment to customers in both the high performance filtration and energy storage markets.

The new machine at the Turin plant is a state-of-the-art line specifically designed to produce glass microfiber media. The line will serve applications where glass microfiber media is required, supporting growth initiatives in industrial filtration as well as in Absorbed Glass Matt (AGM), a key component in Lead Acid Batteries. In addition, the new line will also be able to deliver online saturated filter media, supporting the increasing global demand for filtration media.

“This investment supports our company’s strategic ambition to maintain a leading position in growth niches of the global filtration markets such as cleanrooms, HVAC and hydraulic applications,” says Giuseppe Costa, vice president, Filtration & Performance Solutions Asia and EMEA. “Additionally, the company is making a strong step into the energy storage market by bringing onstream a platform which will be fully qualified for the manufacture of AGM media.”

This investment follows the restart of one of the saturators in the Turin plant, enabling Ahlstrom to deliver additional capacity and effectively support customer demands for high-performance filtration media.

Other recent investments in the filtration business include a new saturator in Madisonville, KY, a machine rebuild in Binzhou, China, capacity expansions in Fabriano, Italy and Malmedy, Belgium and a new microglass line in Turin.

The investment supports Ahlstrom’s strategic ambition to maintain a leading position in selected niches of the global fiber-based solutions market that offer positive growth outlook and are supported by sustainable market drivers. The company has responded to growing customer demand by successively expanding its filtration manufacturing capabilities globally through several new and expansionary investments in the past few years.

Another area of interest for Ahlstrom is the electric vehicles market. In December, the company announced it would create products solely dedicated to filtration media solutions for electric vehicles. The new solutions are for filtration solutions for cabin air, transmission and cooling systems.

“I am very pleased to introduce our new filtration solution for fuel cell air intake,” says Cedric Vallet, head of Business Development, Industrial Filtration & New Vehicles. “By protecting fuel cells from harmful gases and particulates, we ensure the effective operation of the fuel cell over the entire service lifetime of the vehicle.”

“Through increasing fuel cell lifetime and minimizing the use of catalysts, we are offering new filtration solutions which optimize cost/benefit for our customers,” he adds.

Within its wallcovering business, Ahlstrom remains on track in expanding production capacity at its Malmedy plant in Belgium, specialized in the production of nonwovens for wallcovering. The €10 million investment, announced in January 2020, will double the capacity of the plant and diversify the production to also cover filtration materials. The investment will create some 40 new jobs locally.

In other investment news, Ahlstrom is investing €15 million for new technology and converting its existing boilers at its Mosinee and Rhinelander plants in Wisconsin to reduce its carbon emissions and landfill waste.

These investments at the Mosinee production plant will enable a reduction in its carbon footprint by an estimated 20% and a reduction of landfill waste by more than 10%. The project is estimated to be completed at the end of the second quarter in 2023.

In addition, the Rhinelander production plant is expected to reduce CO2 emissions by an estimated 14% and landfill waste by more than 50%.

In 2022, Ahlstrom updated its sustainability targets and committed to The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), which is a global body enabling businesses to set emissions reduction targets to be in line with new climate science.

Plants: Belgium: Malmedy; Brazil: Louveira; China: Binzhou, Longkou; Finland: Karhula, Mikkeli, Tampere; France: Bousbecque, Brignoud, Orleans, Pont-Audemer, Saint-Severin; Germany: Osnabrück, Bärenstein; India: Mundra; Italy: Turin, Fabriano; Russia: Tver; South Korea: Hyon Poong; Sweden: Ställdalen, Falun; U.K.: Chirnside, Radcliffe; U.S.: Bethune, SC; Madisonville, KY; Mt. Holly Springs, PA; Taylorville, IL; Windsor Locks, CT

Processes: Wetlaid (Trinitex), microglass, nanotechnology (Disruptor), composites, creping/micrexing, spunmelt/spunbond, parchmentizing, coating, calendaring

Major Markets: Transportation filtration, diagnostic filtration, water filtration, wall coverings, building, automotive, food packaging, beverage, medical, flooring and masking tape

A change in ownership was among the recent headlines from Ahlstrom-Munksjö. In June 2021, Spa Holdings 3 gained title to all the company’s shares in accordance with Chapter 18, Section 6 of the Finnish Companies Act and Ahlstrom-Munksjö was delisted from the Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd stock exchange.

Throughout the ownership transition, Ahlstrom-Munksjö has continued to invest in its nonwovens business. Most recently, in July 2021 the company announced it would restart one of its saturators on site in Turin, Italy, to support strong demand for high performance filtration media.

“Based on current strong customer demand, we see a need to expand our saturating capacity,” says Giuseppe Costa, vice Filtration EMEA and APAC. “We have evaluated various options and came to the conclusion that restarting the saturator we already have in place in Turin is the quickest and most reliable way to bring qualified capacity to the marketplace in a very short period,” he adds.

This decision follows a series of investments announced by the group in the last few years to strengthen the company’s industrial platform and support demand growth in the industrial and engine filtration industry globally. Recent investments to strengthen the platform include a new saturator in Madisonville, KY; a machine rebuild in Binzhou, China; capacity expansions in Fabriano, Italy, and Malmedy Belgium; and a new microglass line in Turin, Italy.

Most of these investments were announced in 2018 and completed in 2020. They included adding capacity in Turin, the company’s largest global site, and are allowing the company to develop unique filtration solutions for industrial applications. Additionally, in Binzhou, Ahlstrom-Munksjö upgraded an existing line to add production capacity and new capabilities to further enhance the product portfolio. The production line can now deliver the highest performing oil, fuel, air and industrial filtration materials, which will strengthen Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s offering and service for Asian customers.

The investment supports Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s strategic ambition to maintain a leading position in selected niches of the global fiber-based solutions market that offer positive growth outlook and are supported by sustainable market drivers. The company has responded to growing customer demand by successively expanding its filtration manufacturing capabilities globally through several new and expansionary investments in the past few years.

“This investment reinforces our commitment to our customers in Asia,” says Kathrin Hueppe, head of Asia, Filtration & Performance Solutions business area. “Improving our capability in the Binzhou plant allows us to serve their growing needs in high-performance filtration.”

In new filtration product news, Ahlstrom-Munksjö launched its first product offering, totally dedicated to filtration media solutions for electric vehicles. The company’s FiltEV platform uses its extensive technological platforms already in place. The offering highlights the innovative benefits of its new portfolio for electric vehicles and demonstrates its commitment to this market.

“We are determined to take the necessary steps that will ensure Ahlstrom-Munksjö becomes a leading filtration supplier to the electric vehicle market,” says Daniele Borlatto, executive vice president, Filtration & Performance Solutions business area. “The launch reinforces our commitment to electrification, now delivering filtration solutions for electric vehicles, alongside our FortiCell platform, of fiber-based solutions for energy storage.”

In December 2021, Ahlstrom-Munksjö expanded its latest product offering, totally dedicated to filtration media solutions for electric vehicles. The new solutions for fuel cell electric vehicles complement the products launched earlier in the year for all electric vehicles, including filtration solutions for cabin air, transmission and cooling systems.   Ahlstrom-Munksjö understands the market challenges and is developing new commercial solutions to address unmet customer needs for high performance filtration materials for electric vehicles. This now includes a new dedicated filtration solution for fuel cell air intake.

“I am very pleased to introduce our new filtration solution for fuel cell air intake,” says Cedric Vallet, Head of Business Development, Industrial Filtration & New Vehicles. “By protecting fuel cells from harmful gases and particulates, we ensure the effective operation of the fuel cell over the entire service lifetime of the vehicle.”

Additionally, the company has developed new capabilities to test gas adsorption performance at its Pont-Evêque R&D center in France.

Investment has been completed to assist strategic, high-priority R&D projects to develop next generation molecular filters for fuel cell air intake filters, premium cabin air filters (for EV and ICE), and clean room environments.

Gas adsorption performance is the primary technical feature of molecular filter media, with specific products designed to treat gaseous pollutants, thus decision was taken to have internal capability installed at Ahlstrom-Munksjö.

The new capability will enable Ahlstrom-Munksjö to speed up both product development and technical customer support, in addition to being able to insource quality control tests.

Within its wallcovering business, Ahlstrom-Munksjö remains on track expanding production capacity at its Malmedy plant in Belgium, specialized in the production of nonwovens for wallcovering. The €10 million investment, announced in January 2020, will double the capacity of the plant and diversify the production to also cover filtration materials. The investment will create some 40 new jobs locally.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö is a leading supplier of wallcovering materials with an extensive range of nonwovens for the high-end segment. The market for high-end wallcoverings is expected to continue to grow due to increased demand for digitally printed wallcoverings, new and innovative textures and colors, supported by increased customers’ demand for home decoration and new trends in interior design.

In North America, the company has launched WallStar Digital wallcoverings to the North American customized digital printing market, and launches Ahlstrom-Munksjö WallStar Digital, its new portfolio of fiber-based solutions for digital printing applications. Demand for customized digital printing is growing, led by changing consumer demand, where personalization is extremely important. Digitally printed wallcoverings can be used to change a room quickly, while at the same time add impact through use of personalized designs. Environmental aspects are also of high importance, as consumers in North America become more aware of sustainability and the type of materials they wish to use. Consequently, digital printers are looking for PVC free media which allows printing in small, unique, personalized quantities.

WallStar Digital is a directly printable, PVC free, nonwoven portfolio from Ahlstrom-Munksjö, delivering benefits for both printers and end users. For printers, the portfolio delivers media with high dimensional stability and excellent printability. Media are fully compatible with Latex, UV, and laser jet printers. For end users the media is PVC free, has a luxurious touch and is simple to install and remove. Facilitating change and use of new designs.

“40+ years of experience serving the North American wallcoverings market and an unique set of various technologies put us in a very good position to meet the demands of the North American digital wall cover market,” says Pierre Mary, vice president, Nonwovens. “The expansion of WallStar Digital into North America will help establish Ahlstrom-Munksjö as one of the leading suppliers to this market.”

Throughout 2020 and into 2021, Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s medical business remained strong on Covid-related demand and the company’s ability to adjust its business to respond to these new needs. In 2020, the company tripled its legacy face mask capacity by redistributing allocations, looking outside traditional manufacturing footprint, repurposing existing product originally not meant for face mask applications, outsourcing non-essential businesses, qualifying external like capabilities that were available and restarting dormant assets.

Some of these masks were developed in sync with the French norm committee (AFNOR) published guidelines to expand the availability of face masks for non-sanitary. Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s Reliance Dextex and Reliance SMS range of products were among the first materials validated by French Army laboratories for the use of category 1 civil masks to be used by the population. In addition, Reliance SMS showed best-in-class performance and was declared comparable in performance to surgical masks.

In May 2020, Ahlstrom-Munksjö expanded its face mask capabilities through the launch of its Extia Protect product range, specifically designed for face mask applications. The Extia Protect portfolio consists of a full range of high-performance fiber-based solutions for face masks, including filtration layers, cover stocks, lace media and reinforcement layers. Each component of the range has been designed to meet specific requirements of the different type of masks, including respiratory masks, surgical masks, but also civil masks.

Outside of face masks, Ahlstrom-Munksjö has introduced the TenderGuard product portfolio which consists of remarkably soft, comfortable and protective fabrics. TenderGuard BioBased and BioFilter fabrics are designed for civil use and source control for infectious disease. They are biodegradable and compostable under controlled conditions according to European Norm EN13432. TenderGuard Natural and Smooth fabrics are designed for medical face masks. They are protective, hypoallergenic and environmentally friendly.

This material can also be used as an inner or outer coverstock layer of a civil face mask. It is highly breathable, biocompatible, and non-irritating, so it’s gentle on the skin and comfortable to wear for long durations. Mainly comprised of polylactic acid, which is a biopolymer made from sustainable and renewable sources, TenderGuard BioBased is an alternative to synthetic spunbond material.

Plants: Belgium: Malmedy; Brazil: Louveira; China: Binzhou, Longkou; Finland: Karhula, Mikkeli, Tampere; France: Bousbecque, Brignoud, Orleans, Pont-Audemer, Saint-Severin; Germany: Osnabrück, Bärenstein; India: Mundra; Italy: Turin, Fabriano, Russia: Tver; South Korea: Hyon Poong; Sweden: Ställdalen, Falun; U.K.: Chirnside, Radcliffe; U.S.: Bethune, SC; Madisonville, KY; Mt. Holly Springs, PA; Taylorville, IL; Windsor Locks, CT
Processes: Wetlaid (Trinitex), microglass, nanotechnology (Disruptor), composites, creping/micrexing, spunmelt/spunbond, parchmentizing, coating, calendaring
Major Markets: Transportation filtration, diagnostic filtration, water filtration, wall coverings, building, automotive, food packaging, beverage, medical, flooring and masking tape

Net sales decreased slightly in 2019 for Ahlstrom-Munksjö amidst higher selling prices and falling delivery volumes in most of the company’s key areas. At the same time, group profitability decreased slightly, also due to lower volumes, which more than offset high variable costs.

Turning to 2020, Ahlstrom-Munksjö has been active in its response to the global Coronavirus pandemic, leveraging its legacy face mask offerings with other medical technologies to create an additional offering to its medical portfolio.

“The Medical and Filtration Business has tripled our legacy face mask capacity by redistributing allocations, looking outside our traditional manufacturing footprint, repurposing existing product originally not meant for face mask applications, outsourcing non-essential businesses, qualifying external like capabilities that were available and restarting dormant assets,” says Lionel Bonte, vice president of medical.

These masks were developed in sync with the French norm committee (AFNOR) published guidelines to expand the availability of face masks for non-sanitary. Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s Reliance Dextex and Reliance SMS range of products were among the first materials validated by French Army laboratories for the use of category 1 civil masks to be used by the population. In addition, Reliance SMS showed best-in-class performance and was declared comparable in performance to surgical masks.

“The French government introduced the ‘Resilience’ program, a national initiative to urgently produce face masks for the French population,” Bonte says. “Within this project, we signed a contract for directly supplying our Reliance SMS material equivalent to 100 million face masks for civil servants (i.e. police, firemen, teachers, etc.) as well as companies active in essential sectors like food, water and waste management.”

According to Bonte, this was accomplished due to the close cooperation with hospitals to repurpose existing material from its Mundra, India, plant not typically used for face masks. The company quickly reallocated capacity on a full asset to meet the urgency and went beyond its original business model by selling directly to hospitals, material readily cut for face masks to be sewn.

“We managed to shift allocation of non-essential businesses to other assets and benefit from declining demand on other business to increase our allocation on face masks, as well as look outside of our traditional asset base to increase capacity while keeping our fix cost flat,” Bonte adds.

In May, Ahlstrom-Munksjö expanded its face mask capabilities through the launch of its Extia Protect product range, specifically designed for face mask applications. The Extia Protect portfolio consists of a full range of high-performance fiber-based solutions for face masks, including filtration layers, cover stocks, lace media and reinforcement layers. Each component of the range has been designed to meet specific requirements of the different type of masks, including respiratory masks, surgical masks, but also civil masks.

“I am very proud of the work accomplished by our team. In only a few months, we have developed a full offering for face mask applications and are now in a position to serve the growing demand for face mask materials globally by utilizing the available capacity we have in industrial platforms across the globe,” says Daniele Borlatto, EVP Filtration and Performance Solutions.

Meanwhile, Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s manufacturing plants serving the Medical business have been experiencing unprecedented levels of demand across the entire medical product portfolio. The company has expanded production, increased capacity and adapted current technology to meet the demand globally to provide the protection needed to help stop the spread of Covid-19. “We constantly monitor the risks related to the supply chain to ensure our manufacturing needs can be met,” Bonte says. “We also have frequent calls with the global medical team to update and align on manufacturing lead and production times and requirements, raw material pipeline and supply chain flow.”

Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s priority in the medical business unit is to deliver high performance medical fabrics that fully protect healthcare workers and patients globally. Its TrustShield product is an example of how it continues to strengthen and enhance its medical product portfolio as the TrustShield products were specially designed around growing market trends.

The TrustShield product portfolio offers a complete range of medical fabrics designed to provide superior protection in the operating room, clinical and laboratory environments. TrustShield fabrics are laser resistant, protect against biological hazards, chemical permeation, and are highly absorbent.

Its fabrics meet stringent industry standards to ensure the utmost protection against several potential health risks as well as delivering a high quality medical fabric that is durable and effective.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s sole focus has not been on medical. Last year the company acquired Sunde/Lucax. The acquisition provides the company with local filter converting capacity in China and a foothold for expanding sales of other products within the Advanced Liquid Technologies business. Having as ocal presence in Asia will shorten delivery lead times and enable Ahlstrom-Munksjö to serve its customers even better. This deal also doubles the company’s sales in oil filters and make it a global leader in this niche business.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö has also invested in new manufacturing capacity for its filtration business. These include a €28 million investment to expand capacity and product capabilities for industrial filtration applications in Turin, Italy; Ställdalen, Sweden and Malmedy, Belgium.

“The investment supports Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s strategic ambition to maintain a leading position in selected niches of the global fiber-based solutions market that offer positive growth outlook and are supported by sustainable market drivers,” says Borlatto. “

In other investment news, the company has spent about €28 million reinforce its market position in biodegradable and compostable tea bag, coffee and meat casing materials. The project includes purchasing a secondhand paper making line to be dismantled and transferred to the Chirnside manufacturing site in the U.K.

Plants: Belgium: Malmedy; Brazil: Louveira; China: Binzhou, Longkou; Finland: Karhula, Mikkeli, Tampere; France: Bousbecque, Brignoud, Orleans, Pont-Audemer, Saint-Severin; Germany: Osnabrück, Bärenstein; India: Mundra; Italy: Turin, Fabriano, Russia: Tver; South Korea: Hyon Poong; Sweden: Ställdalen, Falun; U.K.: Chirnside, Radcliffe; U.S.: Bethune, SC; Madisonville, KY; Mt. Holly Springs, PA; Taylorville, IL; Windsor Locks, CT
Processes: Wetlaid (Trinitex), microglass, nanotechnology (Disruptor), composites, creping/micrexing, spunmelt/spunbond, parchmentizing, coating, calendaring
Major Markets: Transportation filtration, diagnostic filtration, water filtration, wall coverings, building, automotive, food packaging, beverage, medical, flooring and masking tape

Ahlstrom-Munksjö was created in 2017 through the merger of nonwovens specialist Ahlstrom and specialty paper manufacturer Munksjö to create one of the largest fiber-based companies in the world. With a strong focus on sustainability, 92% of the company’s business is based on natural fibers and its nonwovens business largely targets filtration, food and beverage, wall coverings, medical and building markets.

In 2018, the company’s Filtration and Performance business unit reported sales of €672 million compared to €665 million the prior year with growth attributed mainly to higher selling prices.

According to the company, demand for its filtration products was solid globally across all product segments in 2018 with continuing growth in the truck and passenger vehicle fleets. Growth was particularly strong in the industrial end use segment in response to stricter regional regulations and higher air quality standards, several new products and product improvements, which were launched during the year.

In June 2018, the company announced it would invest about €28 million to expand manufacturing capacity and product capabilities to help grow its filtration business. The project, which includes adding capacity in Turin, Italy, and rebuilding and modifying existing sites in Malmedy, Belgium, and Ställdalen, Sweden, will be complete during the first half of 2020.

The investment will add capacity in Turin, Italy, and support growing demand for high end filtration materials. Turin is already Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s largest plant globally and this investment will further consolidate the company’s position as one of the leading global platforms for high-performance filtration material development and production. Meanwhile, the improvements in Malmedy, Belgium, and Ställdalen, Sweden, will allow the sites to develop unique filtration solutions for industrial applications.

In recent years, Ahlstrom-Munksjö has made a number of investments in filtration. In July 2017, the company announced it would add capacity in Turin, Italy, to meet demand for engine and industrial filtration media, which will significantly increase the company’s ability to answer the current and future needs of its filtration customers.

This investment follows a similar investment in Madisonville, KY, valued at €23 million, which was announced in October 2016. It was scheduled to be complete during the first half of 2018 and helped the company strengthen its focus in North and South America.

Meanwhile, in response to demand for filtration media in South America, Ahlstrom-Munksjö has taken the first step toward a potential capacity expansion plan in Louveira, Brazil, by acquiring a piece of land adjacent to its existing plant. The Louveira plant, which is in the San Paolo region of Brazil, employs about 110 people and makes filtration media for transportation and industrial applications. Next up will be steps to further reinforce it global leadership in filtration with a particular focus on growth in China.

Also included in Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s Filtration and Performance Segment is building and wind, where the company has unique technology suitable for the flooring industry. Thanks to its strong customer relationships, Ahlstrom-Munksjö has established a solid market position in the glass fiber tissue-based flooring market globally and is evaluating growth opportunities.

In 2018, the first product from the new product platform High Flow reinforcement fabric was launched, a carbon fiber fabric for high performance applications in wind energy and marine end uses. Market demand for reinforcement fabrics stayed good, although markets for the standard quality fabrics segment, particularly for wind mill applications, remained very competitive.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s other nonwovens related business unit, Specialties contains the company’s food packaging, beverage casing and medical businesses. In 2018, sales in this segment reached €580 million. According to reports, growth in demand for genuine vegetable parchment papers continued and profitability of the product segment remained good. In 2018, ramp-up of the new parchmentizer line in September was successful at the Saint Severin plant in France. The new line meets the growing demand for sustainable alternatives for cooking and baking papers, pan liners, trays and molds. Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s parchment papers are made out of cellulose fibers with no chemical additives and most of its variants are biodegradable and certified home compostable.

In the single-serve coffee market, Ahlstrom-Munksjö is a niche supplier with a leading position in the sustainable and compostable segment in Europe and making good progress on the U.S. market. It has also seen success in the tea bags and  coffee pod markets with a sustainable product offering, and its fibrous meat casing market showed steady growth. The trend towards plastic-free, compostable and sustainable products accelerated in 2018.

In 2018, Ahlstrom-Munksjö enforced its position in this segment by modernizing its production platform in the beverage and casing business through the purchase of a second-hand Voith paper making line. The state-of-the-art line will be dismantled and transferred to Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s Chirnside, U.K., site where the company already has extensive knowledge in the manufacturing of tea and coffee filter paper and fibrousmeat casing materials. The machine should be fully operational by the end of this year.

The new production line will strengthen product capabilities and, combined with Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s extensive offering of biodegradable and compostable solutions, enables growth in the attractive tea and coffee markets. The investment addresses also the constrained capacity situation in all three segments; coffee, tea and casing, and enables the company to respond to growing end-use demand.

In the tea bag materials market, where sustainable and plastic free alternatives are driving demand, Ahlstrom-Munksjö has a leading position with its Fiber+ offering, which is a plastic-free and compostable solution made without oil based heat seal fibers.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s medical business, particularly the market for high performance barrier protection, continued to show strong growth while the market for commoditized sterilization wrap materials remained competitive. However, thanks to market expansion and renewed trust from an existing customer base, 2018 was a successful year for the sterilization wrap segment in Europe, showing growth above market levels.

Within medical, the company offers a range of products based on spunmelt technology for basic performance, or with added properties like anti-static for medium performance and alcohol repellent for high performance and comfort as well as  breathable viral barrier (BVB) fabrics, which are tri-laminates consisting of a spunmelt outer and inner layer with a breathable monolithic film layer.

Last fall the company launched its next generation BVB surgical fabric, ViroSel, which is constructed for the most critical areas of a surgical gown designed to keep medical professionals protected and comfortable. “We leveraged our decades of experience to create a fabric that can be reliably used to make the most protective and comfortable surgical gowns on the market,” Melanie Burakouski, global market development manager, says.

Plants: Belgium: Malmedy; Brazil: Louveira; China: Binzhou, Longkou; Finland: Karhula, Mikkeli, Tampere; France: Bousbecque, Brignoud, Orleans, Pont-Audemer, Saint-Severin; Germany: Osnabrück, Bärenstein; India: Mundra; Italy: Turin, Fabriano, Russia: Tver; South Korea: Hyon Poong; Sweden: Ställdalen, Falun; U.K.: Chirnside, Radcliffe; U.S.: Bethune, SC; Madisonville, KY; Mt. Holly Springs, PA; Taylorville, IL; Windsor Locks, CT
Processes: Wetlaid (Trinitex), microglass, nanotechnology (Disruptor), composites, creping/micrexing, spunmelt/spunbond, parchmentizing, coating, calendaring
Major Markets: Transportation filtration, diagnostic filtration, water filtration, wall coverings, building, automotive, food packaging, beverage, medical, flooring and masking tape

The year 2017 was a transformative one for Ahlstrom-Munksjö. In July, the company was created through the merger of nonwovens manufacturer Ahlstrom and paper specialist Munksjö in April, forming a global leader in sustainable and innovative fiber-based solutions with combined annual sales of €2.2 billion and earnings of €249 million and approximately 6200 employees. The combined company has 41 production and converting facilities in 14 countries as well as leading global positions in its main product areas including décor, filtration, industrial solutions and specialties.

Prior to the merger, the two companies had jointly operated a site in Turin, Italy, since 2013 when Munksjö had merged with Ahlstrom’s Label and Processing business.

Following the merger, the company’s nonwovens businesses have been grouped into two divisions—filtration and performance and specialties. The filtration and performance division, which saw sales rise 7.8% to €665.3 million in 2017, includes the company’s transportation filtration market as well as its wall coverings business. Filtration growth continues to benefit from stricter emission standards around the world as well as greater awareness of air pollution in countries like China and Brazil.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö is responding to these gains with investment.

In June, the company announced it would invest about €28 million to expand manufacturing capacity and product capabilities to help grow its filtration business. The project, which includes adding capacity in Turin, Italy, and rebuilding and modifying existing sites in Malmedy, Belgium, and Ställdalen, Sweden, was set to start this year and will be complete during the first half of 2020.

“This investment will enable us to create additional capacity in Turin, Italy, and will allow us to support growing demand for high-end filtration materials. Turin is already Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s largest plant globally and this investment will further consolidate our position as one of the leading global platforms for high-performance filtration material development and production,” says Fulvio Capussotti, executive vice president of Business Area Filtration and Performance. “This investment also includes rebuilding and modification of our existing plants in Malmedy, Belgium and Ställdalen, Sweden. We see an opportunity to use the remaining capacity of these two plants to develop unique filtration solutions for industrial applications, without affecting our ability to serve and support our existing customers at these plants.”

In recent years, Ahlstrom-Munksjö has made a number of investments in filtration. In July 2017, the company announced it would release additional capacity in Turin, Italy, to meet demand for engine and industrial filtration media. The project is expected to be finished by the end of 2018 and will significantly increase the company’s ability to answer the current and future needs of our filtration customers.

This investment follows a similar investment in Madisonville, KY, valued at €23 million, which was announced in October 2016. It was scheduled to be complete during the first half of 2018 and will help the company strengthen its focus in North and South America.

Meanwhile, in response to demand for filtration media in South America, Ahlstrom-Munksjö has taken the first step toward a potential capacity expansion plan in Louveira, Brazil, by acquiring a piece of land adjacent to its existing plant. The Louveira plant, which is in the San Paolo region of Brazil, employs about 110 people and makes filtration media for transportation and industrial applications.

In new product news, in March, Ahlstrom-Munksjö launched Trinitex Advance W3200, a unique E12 filtration media specifically designed for pulse jet gas turbine applications. Trinitex Advance W3200 is a natural extension of the Trinitex Advance product range and has been designed for pulse jet gas turbine applications requiring the highest level of performance.

Trinitex Advance W3200 has the ability to combine EPA (Efficiency Particulate Air) EN1822 E12 Efficiency Class, producing up to 30 times purer air than media with E10 Efficiency, while delivering unrivaled protection of the gas turbine in all demanding conditions, especially humid or industrial environments.

Meanwhile, the company’s wallcovering market continues to perform well as the market continues to switch to high value products like Spray Up, the wall covering system with a unique, integrated, adhesive system, which significantly improves the decorating experience for consumers.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s Specialties division includes food and beverage, lab filters, life science applications, water purification products, tapes and medial products. Its sales last year were mainly flat at €574 million.

One area of interest is the tea bag and coffee capsule market. While the market for tea bags continues to be competitive, there are opportunities for innovation in the premium tea bag and coffee capsule markets, according to the company. In June, Ahlstrom-Munksjö was recognized for its plastic-free tea bag material at the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas, NV. Fiber+ is a range of plastic free products for tea and coffee applications.

“Current filter solutions for heat sealable tea bags are mainly based on non-compostable materials made of cellulose and fossil based plastic,” says Stuart Nixon, vice president of beverage and casing. “Ahlstrom-Munksjö is one of the first players to provide a compostable filter capable to seal and be converted effectively. I’m delighted to receive this recognition from the industry as we believe sustainable materials are our future.”

As part of the company’s focus on sustainability, the new ‘Fiber+’ product range offers a plastic free, certified compostable version of traditional heat sealable materials combining high performance with special focus on reducing the environmental impact at end of life.

The Fiber+ technology consists in replacing the fossil based plastic with PLA, a material that has comparable properties but is renewable, biodegradable and compostable after use.

These filters have been specifically designed to perform at the same high level as traditional heat-seal material but with the advantage of meeting regulatory compostability requirements of both the European and American agencies.

In June, Ahlstrom-Munksjö announced it was reinforcing its position by modernizing its production platform in the beverage and casing business through the purchase of a second-hand Voith paper making line. The state-of-the-art line will be dismantled and transferred to Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s Chirnside, U.K., site where the company already has extensive knowledge in the manufacturing of tea and coffee filter paper and fibrous meat casing materials. The benefit of this €28 million investment will increase the site’s manufacturing capacity and production efficiency. The machine should be fully operational in the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2019.

The new production line will strengthen product capabilities and, combined with Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s extensive offering of biodegradable and compostable solutions, enables growth in the attractive tea and coffee markets. The investment addresses also the constrained capacity situation in all three segments; coffee, tea and casing, and enables the company to respond to growing end-use demand.

“The investment shows our long-term commitment and our ambition to maintain a leading position in coffee, tea and casing papers. I’m also encouraged that sustainability and plastic-free solutions are in strong demand because it gives us a strategic opportunity to leverage our competence and innovation capability, differentiate our offering of advanced custom-made fiber based materials, and strengthen our relationship with our customers,” states Omar Hoek, executive vice president of Business Area Specialties.

Meanwhile, in medical, the company continues to focus on advanced products featuring breathable technology and is looking to expand capacity in the medical warp segment to widen its geographical footprint.

Earlier this year, the company launched Ahlstrom-Munksjö PureArmor, a breathable impervious fabric for blood borne pathogen and cleanroom apparel protection.

“PureArmor eliminates the need to choose between comfort and protection. It offers the highest possible level of protection for sensitive environments without sacrificing the wearer’s comfort, which is unique when compared to fabrics frequently used in cleanroom apparel,” says Lionel Bonte, vice president, Medical, Ahlstrom-Munksjö.

The new PureArmor fabric is a next generation tri-laminate nonwoven that has extremely low lint, making it suitable for applications that are sensitive to particle contamination. By leveraging patent pending Ahlstrom-Munksjö technology, its product development engineers achieved extremely low levels of lint. The patent pending manufacturing process welds bicomponent spunbond fibers together which makes the fabric less prone to shedding without sacrificing softness.

The barrier film layer at the center of the tri-laminate fabric is a membrane which has a nonporous monolithic structure that provides an impervious barrier, thus blocking the passage of viruses, bacteria, fluids and particles. The structure of the film allows moisture vapor to pass through, allowing the wearer to remain comfortable while providing the highest level of protection.

Most nonwoven fabrics available for cleanroom applications have particle filtration efficiency between 94-98% meaning that the fabric is allows hundreds of thousands of particles to be released into the cleanroom environment in addition to potential blood borne pathogens. PureArmor’s monolithic film design stops 100% of the particles and potential blood borne pathogens.

Ahlstrom-Munksjö’s diverse product portfolio of fabrics within the medical segment also includes fabrics for use in many types of protective apparel, surgical drapes, gowns and sterile barrier systems meeting demanding performance needs.

Plants: Belgium: Malmedy; Brazil: Louveira; China: Binzhou, Longkou; Finland: Karhula, Mikkeli, Tampere; France: Bousbecque, Brignoud, Orleans, Pont-Audemer, Saint-Severin; India: Mundra; Italy: Turin; Fabriano, Russia: Tver; South Korea: Hyon Poong; UK: Chirnside, Radcliffe; US: Bethune, SC; Madisonville, KY; Mt. Holly Springs, PA; Taylorville, IL; Windsor Locks, CT; Europe: Osnabrück, Germany; Bärenstein, Germany; and Ställdalen, Sweden; Falun Sweden
Processes: Wetlaid (Trinitex), microglass, nanotechnology (Disruptor), composites, creping/micrexing, spunmelt/spunbond, parchmentizing, coating, calendaring
Major Markets: Transportation filtration, diagnostic filtration, water filtration, wall coverings, building, automotive, food packaging, beverage, medical, flooring and masking tape

The big news from nonwovens producer Ahlstrom is its merger with fellow Finnish company Munksjö. Ahlstrom and Munksjö first announced plans to merge in November 2016. They had already jointly operated a site in Turin, Italy, since 2013 when Munksjö and Ahlstrom’s Label and Processing business merged.

“After the very successful integration of our acquired businesses during the past years and strong operating performance, the combination with Ahlstrom is a natural first step in the execution of our growth strategy, combining two leading businesses into one strong engine for performance and growth,” Peter Seligson, chairman of the board at Munksjö, said when announcing the merger. “The combined company will be positioned for strong long term-financial returns partly through the significant communicated cost synergies but mainly through enhanced future competitiveness and growth opportunities.”

The new company, which was officially formed in April 2017, is a global leader in sustainable and innovative fiber-based solutions with preliminary combined annual net sales of approximately €2.2 billion and EBITDA of €249 million for the 12 months ended September 30, 2016, and approximately 6200 employees. The combined company has 41 production and converting facilities in 14 countries and leading global positions in its main product areas including décor, filtration, industrial solutions and specialties.

Hans Sohlström, former chairman of Ahlstrom’s board, said that Ahlstrom has spent the last two years executing a very focused and successful business turnaround by shedding costs and by focusing on commercial excellence with new products and value added solutions for its customers. “The financial results speak for themselves. The combination now enables us to directly jump into a growth mode with a much stronger balance sheet and greater earnings potential which will benefit our shareholders and our customers as well as other stakeholders.”

In 2016, Ahlstrom’s nonwovens sales increased 2% to reach €1.085 billion thanks largely to higher sales volumes in glass fiber, wall coverings, food packaging and single-serve coffee and laboratory and life science materials.

In addition to growing sales and volumes, Ahlstrom was able to significantly increase its volumes in 2016 thanks to a strategy based on four pillars—improving its commercial excellence including price and product optimization, introducing new products and technologies to the market and creating customer satisfaction; implementing a new lean operating model to lower fixed costs: filling capacity at recent investments and seeing new growth platforms in areas such as single-serve coffee, life science and water purification businesses.

While the combination with merger means that Ahlstrom- Munksjö has interests outside of nonwovens, their materials continue to generate almost half of the total net sales, meaning they continue to be an important part of the overall growth of the combined company. And, since the two companies have very few overlapping  products, it’s unlikely that there will be much streamlining in the number of sites.

Speaking of the company’s manufacturing footprint, it continues to expand under the new company structure with two expansions within its filtration business. In July, the company said it would release additional capacity in Turin, Italy, to support growing demand for filtration media.

“This capacity increase aims at improving our current service level but also, more strategically, enables us to offer to our customer an industrial platform on which they can build on to further grow their business,” says Fulvio Capussotti, executive vice president of filtration and performance. “The plan will include investments on selected assets, reorganization of planning practices and additional staffing. This capacity release will be concluded at the beginning of 2018 and will significantly increase our ability to answer the current and future needs of our filtration customers.”

This investment follows a similar investment in Madisonville, KY, valued at €23 million, which was announced in October. It is scheduled to be complete during the first half of 2018 and will help the company strengthen its focus in North and South America.

Both investments will enhance the quality and widen the range of engine and industrial filtration materials being offered by Ahlstrom-Munksjö.

Another market in growth mode is the single-serve coffee market, where Ahlstrom-Munksjö has been working with its customers to provide them with solutions that are biodegradable and compostable. In December, the company announced a deal with Caffee Vernano in Italy and Cap Mundo in France to supply the patented GreenCapsulre top lid, which is a fully compostable and biodegradable alternative to the common aluminum lid used in coffee capsules. It combines optimum extraction for a perfect espresso with a low environmental footprint.

Ahlstrom’s PLA-based material is also the choice of Canada’s  Club Coffee, which uses the material in its PurPod100 product.

“Over past couple of years we have worked hard together with our customers and have been able to provide them with solutions that are biodegradable and compostable. With our solution, our customers can replace products using aluminum and plastics,” says investor and media relations manager Juho Erkheikki.

In fact, renewable fibers is a major interest to Ahlstrom-Munksjö. About 90% of the fibers the company uses as raw materials come from renewable sources and awareness of environmental concerns and resource scarcity drives much of its activities..

“The merger created a global leader in fiber-based materials with leading positions in many growing niche markets,” Erkheikki adds. “The combined company has a strong balance sheet that allows us to seek profitable growth, both organically as well as through acquisitions, should an opportunity rise. We have also confirmed annual cost synergies of €35 million, and may even exceed that amount. In addition, we foresee benefits in the capital markets through lower financing costs and improved investor appetite through better liquidity of the share.”

Plants: Belgium: Malmedy; Brazil: Louveira; China: Binzhou, Longkou; Finland: Karhula,  Mikkeli, Tampere; France: Bousbecque, Brignoud, Orleans, Pont-Audemer, Saint-Severin; India: Mundra; Italy: Turin; Fabriano, Russia: Tver; South Korea: Hyon Poong; U.K.: Chirnside, Radcliffe; U.S.: Bethune, SC; Madisonville, KY; Mt. Holly Springs, PA; Taylorville, IL; Windsor Locks, CT; Germany: Osnabrück, Bärenstein; Sweden: Ställdalen and Falun
Processes: Wetlaid (Trinitex), microglass, nanotechnology (Disruptor), composites, creping/micrexing, spunmelt/spunbond, parchmentizing, coating, calendaring
Major Markets: Transportation filtration, diagnostic filtration, water filtration, wall coverings, building, automotive, food packaging, beverage, medical, flooring and masking tape

Operating under a new business structure is Ahlstrom. In January 2016, the company reorganized itself into two business areas—Filtration & Performance and Specialties. The Filtration & Performance business includes the engine and industrial filtration, industrial nonwovens, wallcoverings, building and wind businesses. The Specialties business area consists of food packaging, masking tape, medical and advanced filtration businesses. The business areas have responsibility for sales and market development, technical and customer service, product development and operations.

“The changes in operational and management structure will bring further focus in serving our customers and markets. I am confident that the streamlined business model will bring further efficiency and clarity to all of our operations,” states Marco Levi, president & CEO.

Prior to the restructuring, Ahlstrom operated through three segments–Building and Energy, Food and Medical and Filtration.

In  2015 Ahlstrom reported sales growth of 7.4% to reach €1.07 billion thanks to higher selling prices and improved product mix on the up side and low volumes in the filtration, food and medical businesses on the down side. Growth markets include single-serve coffee filters and water filtration media in the specialties business and glass fiber products and wallcovering in the filtration and performance segment.

By segment, filtration sales rose 7.2% to €431.6 million thanks to higher selling prices, an improved product mix through the sale of more advanced filtration materials and favorable currency effects. However, lower volumes of heavy-duty filtration products had a negative impact on sales.

Within the filtration segment important growth areas include single-serve coffee materials and water filtration media in the specialties business areas and glass fiber products and wall coverings in the filtration and performance business.

In new product news, Ahlstrom offers a large portfolio of filtration media for industrial applications. “Our air intake filter media range of gas turbine market is constantly growing with new products to coverall stages of filtration,” says Noora Blasi, marketing communications manager, Filtration and Advanced Liquid Technologies. “This covers pre-filtration and final stage HEPA filtration including pulse jet filtration.”

For example Ahlstrom TrinitexGT technology offers filter media with excellent mechanical filtration efficiency and low pressure drop thanks to its unique three-layer structure. Each layer can be customized to deliver specific properties and the optimal combination of strength, mechanical particle removal efficiency even at small particle sizes and pressure drop. Other technologies include Micrgolass GT filter media, SafePulse, XAir GT And NanoPulse.

In water filtration, Ahlstrom’s patented Disruptor technology offers the water filtration market a new type of product. Based on electroadsorption, not mechanical filtration, this technology can reduce pathogens, trace pharmaceuticals, heavy metals and many colloidal contaminants from drinking water.

For transportation filtration Ahlstrom has designed many novel solutions that match today’s stringent performances.  As an example, Ahlstrom Captimax  is a synthetic solution for fuel filtration with higher efficiency and dirt holding capacity.

Turning toward the building and energy segment, net sales increased 7% to €308.5 million due to increased volumes and higher selling prices of flooring, glassfiber reinforcements and specialty nonwoven applications as well as the ramp-up of wallcovering production in Asia. Lower sales of wallcovering materials in Europe had a negative impact on net sales.

Ahlstrom showed its commitment to the wall coverings market in 2014 when it invested €40 million in a new production line in Binzhou, China. At the time, executives call the investment as major step forward in the execution of its Asian strategy. In late 2015, Ahlstrom announced it was increasing the flexibility of this new line to also be able to make filtration products. This line is now able to make about 20,000 metric tons of wallcovering or filtration products. “This investment reinforces our commitment to our customers in the filtration and wallcovering materials markets in China and elsewhere in the region,” says Fulvio Capussotti, executive vice president, Building and Energy business area. “It’s also vital for us to make the Binzhou line more versatile to ensure business agility.”

The Binzhou site already made products for the filtration market.

In corporate news, in July Ahlstrom and Owens Corning terminated the agreement regarding the planned divestiture of Ahlstrom’s Building & Wind business unit to Owens Corning following challenges associated with obtaining regulatory clearance in Germany for the transaction. Ahlstrom will continue to operate and develop the Building & Wind business unit as before and it will be reported as part of the Filtration & Performance segment. In 2015, net sales of the Building & Wind business unit was €83.5 million.

“In 2015 we were approached by Owens Corning to acquire the Building & Wind business unit and engaged in exclusive negotiations with them. Following the unexpected challenges with the German competition authorities, and after careful consideration, we have decided to keep the business intact as part of the Ahlstrom portfolio of innovative fiber-based materials.

The performance of the Building & Wind business unit, as that of the entire Ahlstrom Group, has clearly improved since negotiations were initiated and the business is today contributing positively to our profitability and cash flow,” says Levi. “We are fully committed to serving our customers and reinforcing the unit’s competitive position.”

Throughout all of its business, Ahlstrom remains committed to growing and creating stakeholder value by providing the best performing sustainable fiber-based materials. “We are in the business of creating value for people and the environment and we act with integrity and respect in all that we do,” says Juho Erkheeiki, financial communications manager. “We feel that being responsible is in the heart of our business and our products are designed to offer a function in everyday life.

“Economic responsibility means that we ensure the profitability of our business, while acting in an ethical manner,” he adds. “Social responsibility means safety, employee well-being, respecting human rights and making Ahlstrom a great and inspiring place to work. Environmental responsibility means minimizing the environmental impacts of both our operations and products and also helping our customers to solve their sustainability challenges.”

Plants: Belgium: Malmedy; Brazil: Louveira; China: Binzhou, Longkou; Finland: Karhula,  Mikkeli, Tampere; France: Bousbecque, Brignoud, Orleans, Pont-Audemer, Saint-Severin; India: Mundra; Italy: Turin; Fabriano, Russia: Tver; South Korea: Hyon Poong; UK: Chirnside, Radcliffe; US: Bethune, SC; Madisonville, KY; Mt. Holly Springs, PA; Taylorville, IL; Windsor Locks, CT; Osnabrück, Germany; Bärenstein, Germany; and Ställdalen, Sweden; Falun Sweden
Processes: Wetlaid (Trinitex), microglass, nanotechnology (Disruptor), composites, creping/micrexing, spunmelt/spunbond, parchmentizing, coating, calendaring
Major Markets: Transportation filtration, diagnostic filtration, water filtration, wall coverings, building, automotive, food packaging, beverage, medical, flooring and masking tape

Ahlstrom’s net sales in January-December 2014 fell 1.3% to just over €1 billion. Higher selling prices and improved product mix positively impacted net sales but were not enough to offset lower volumes in the building and energy and medical business. However, the company is proud of achievements like improving product mix and increasing selling prices as well as progress with new product launches and improved sales mix. In 2014, 15% of Ahlstrom’s sales were generated by new products.

“Our strategy is inspired by global megatrends such as resource scarcity, emerging needs in healthcare, and demographics and urbanization. The megatrends offer us a wealth of opportunities and our current and future product offering is driven by them, manager of financial communications and investor relations Juho Erkheikki says. “Following the top management change in 2014, we have focused on near-term improvement through our roadmap that includes commercial excellence, go-to-market process, simplification and building up the new Ahlstrom.  While we have made progress toward our long-term financial targets, we still have a way to go to uncover the full competitive potential of this company.”

In early 2015, Ahlstrom decided to trim its reporting units from four to three by combining its two filtration-related segments—Advanced Filtration and Transportation—into one unit. Ahlstrom’s three main units are now Building and Energy, Food and Medical and Filtration.

“The three business areas have stronger operational alignment, including responsibility for sales and marketing, technical customer service, product development and operations,” Erkheikki  says. “The split made good sense strategy-wise at the time, but now we felt that more simplicity was needed.”

Following the completion of the Label and Processing demerger in 2013, Ahlstrom initiated a right-sizing program to bring down costs to reflect its new size and scope. The plan was to achieve approximately €39 million in annual costs savings in continuing operations, targeting both selling, general and administration (SGA) costs and production overheads. In addition, approximately €11 million in savings were derived from costs transferred to Munksjö Oyj, bringing the total target to €50 million. All the actions relating to this program have now been taken.

After several years of investing ambitiously in the filtration market through—both acquisition and expansion, Ahlstrom has not made a purchase since 2012 when it bought Munktell to accelerate growth in advanced filtration particularly in life science and laboratory applications. Instead, the company has looked toward the development of new products, like Pleast2Save, Captimax  and SafeCabin  for growth.

“New product introductions have enlarged many of our product portfolios and also opened up new market segments for us,” says Noora Blasi, marketing  manager, Filtration. “ As an example, Ahlstrom Captimax is a novel synthetic solution for fuel filtration and it positions us as a key player in the synthetic filter media solutions market.

This product is specifically designed for fuel filtration, but there are many other opportunities for this type of media. “

Ahlstrom Pleat2Save offers HVAC markets a new, durable product. The superior durability comes from the products predominant synthetic structure. It makes the pleating process for product much easier therefore bringing cost savings in time and materials. Ahlstrom SafeCabin  is a complete range of filter media for cabin air applications. SafeCabin for particulate filtration and SafeCabin™

Carbon for combined particulate, gas and odor removal.  We have a full range of filter media for OEM, OES and After Market.

Ahlstrom’s Building and Energy business covers a wide range of materials that make buildings and structures solid, such as carriers for vinyl floorings and reinforcements for windmill blades as well as wallcoverings and a wide range of materials for specialty applications.

While 2014 sales were challenging for this business, more recent conditions have been more positive. In the second quarter of 2015, Ahlstrom reported a 8.5% increase in sales due  to higher sales of flooring, glassfiber and specialty flooring applications.

Ahlstrom AceBlade, in both glass and carbon versions, has been introduced to wind energy customers with considerable interest. Testing and approval is currently ongoing.

Another important segment in this unit is wall coverings. In 2014, Ahlstrom started up a line dedicated to this market in Binzhou, China. The investment not only expanded Ahlstrom’s capabilities in this market, it also provides it with immediate access to the fast growing Chinese wallcovering market. “

Within this segment, Ahlstrom launched EasyLife Spray & Up, a new wall covering product,which  is quick, easy and clean to use, requiring no additional adhesive or specialist tools.

“We have had  positive market feedback on EasyLife Spray & Up.   The product delivers quick, easy and clean installation,” says Calum Mayland, marketing manager, Building and Energy. “It is dedicated designed to support the installation of latex digital images, printed by HP Latex machines, for segments of wall décor and interior retail graphics.”

Also within building and energy were Ahlstrom’s efforts in the battery separator but, in October 2014, the company announced it would no long invest in its joint venture partner Porous Power Technologies because U.S.-based subsidiary has not been able to develop its nonwoven battery separator solution into a product that would be qualified by potential customers. Ahlstrom had acquired  a 49.5% stake in Porous Power Technologies in 2011.

Ahlstrom’s food business continues to be driven by a growing needs to be more sustainable and ecofriendly while at the same time catering to a need for convenience in food and beverage packaging Ahlstrom is taking advantage of these trends by focusing research and development efforts on products that add these characteristics up—convenient like a tea bag, or a single serve espresso capsule or pod, but also their sustainable version, using PLA a biodegradable plant based resin in our products, or genuine vegetable parchment, like in our NatureMolds, where we have very good sales growth.

Ahlstrom NatureMold, launched in February 2014, is a new sustainable molding material that offers food processors and brand owners many unique benefits.

New developments within Ahlstrom’s medical business include VaporCool. The product is made from a soft SMS fabric treated with adaptive technology to create a smart fabric designed for conversion into single-use surgical scrub suits. Described as a soft, textile-like, dynamic fabric that offers outstanding comfort, when worn in direct contact with the skin, the fabric works as an extension of the wearers’ body, helping to regulate their body temperature. When hot, the fabric boosts evaporation providing a cooling effect; when cool, the fabric holds in moisture acting as an insulating layer.

Plants: Belgium: Malmedy; Brazil: Louveira; China: Binzhou, Longkou; Finland: Karhula, Kauttua, Mikkeli, Tampere; France: Bousbecque, Brignoud, Pont-Audemer, Saint-Severin; India: Mundra; Italy: Turin; Russia: Tver; South Korea: Hyon Poong; UK: Chirnside, Radcliffe; US: Bethune, SC; Madisonville, KY; Mt. Holly Springs, PA; Taylorville, IL; Windsor Locks, CT
Processes: Wetlaid (Trinitex), microglass, nanotechnology (Disruptor), composites, creping/micrexing, spunmelt/spunbond, parchmentizing, coating, calendaring
Major Markets: Transportation filtration, diagnostic filtration, water filtration, wall coverings, building, automotive, food packaging, beverage, medical, flooring and masking tape

A few years ago, Ahlstrom formed a strategy to transform itself into a major high performance, fiber-based materials company. This strategy meant the divestment of its wipes assets as well as investment and increased focus on core markets like filtration, wall coverings and medical. In addition, the company has demerged its specialty paper business.

Now that this transformation is complete, and Ahlstrom is indeed a high performance, fiber-based company, it has in place a roadmap for growth based on its established business portfolio and is well placed to improve its profitability in 2014, according to financial communications and investor relations manager Juho Erkheikki. In 2013, the company’s sales increased 0.4% to reach €1.01 billion ($1.37 billion) mostly due to higher selling prices and a favorable product mix.

“We have now successfully completed a major transformation of the company to become a high performance fiber-based materials company,” Erkheikki says. “We have created the roadmap for growth based on our established business portfolio and are well placed to improve our profitability in 2014.”

By business, two of the company’s five main segments, advanced filtration and transportation filtration, increased net sales while the other two, building and energy, food, and medical reported declines.

Within the company’s advanced filtration business, which includes all of Ahlstrom’s filtration activities outside of transportation, significant focus has centered on high efficiency air and power generation with focus on key performance characteristics like durability, advantages of processing and mechanical performance. “We are also working on innovative solutions for various liquid applications including water, laboratory and life sciences,” says marketing manager Noora Blasi.

In late 2012, Ahlstrom acquired Munktell Filter as part of its plan to accelerate growth in advanced filtration materials particularly in life science and laboratory applications. The transaction included 100% ownership in Munktell Filter as well as its holdings in Munktell & Filtrak, Filtres Fioroni and Munktell.

“The Munktell acquisition has now been successfully integrated into our business,” Blasi says. “By combining the product portfolios of the two companies, we have been able to build an even stronger portfolio in laboratory and life science markets.”

Also boosting Ahlstrom’s role in advanced filtration is collaboration with Dow whereby Dow will use Ahlstrom’s Disruptor technology in drinking water applications. Ahlstrom Disruptor is a unique nanoalumina technology designed for a wide range of water applications.

“One of the key goals in our product development is to create products that purify air and liquids in a sustainable way. We are excited about the opportunity to work with Dow since we see a wealth of opportunities for providing pure water solutions through combining our expertise with Dow’s industry-leading product offering,” says Fulvio Capussotti, executive vice president, advanced filtration, Ahlstrom.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Ahlstrom’s filtration business, transportation, solid growth continues in Asia, North America and Europe, while the market in South America has started to see some positive signs following a slowdown in the second half of 2013. As it continues to invest in growth in areas like Turin, Italy, Louveira, Brazil and Binzhou, China, Ahlstrom has also seen growth on the heels of several new product introductions including Captimax, which combines high efficiency filtration with extremely high dust holding capacity, and SafeCabin, a full portfolio of cabin air filter media including solutions for fine particulate filtration and for activated carbon with Ahlstrom Trinitex technology. Additionally, the company continues to expand its portfolio for oil applications and engine air media products.

“We will continue to grow with our customers by expanding our global filtration solution portfolio,” Blasi says. “We will do that by understanding the changing market and product requirements and unmet needs. Our global reach and presence is unique and that combined with our long history and expertise in fibers and chemistries will support our future growth.”

Meanwhile, Ahlstrom’s building and energy segment mainly serves customers in the building, transportation, windmill and wallcovering industries. One of the key pieces of news coming out of this segment is the startup of a new wallcovering line in Binzhou, China. The investment has not only expanded Ahlstrom’s capabilities in this market, it also provides it with immediate access to the fast growing Chinese wallcovering market.

“Our set of capabilities have increased dramatically and we feel that we are now in a great position to be successful in this fast growing market,” says Robin Guillaud, sales director, technical nonwovens.

Another milestone in Ahlstrom’s wallcoverings business was the launch of EasyLife Spray & Up, a new offering for the fast growing digital wall decor market. The patent-pending material has a unique, integrated adhesive system, which significantly improved the decorating experience for customers. According to Ahlstrom, EasyLife Spray & Up is easy and clean to use—no additional adhesive or specialist tools are required, just water and a spray bottle. Application time is reduced by up to 60%, while use of traditional adhesive is eliminated, delivering less mess and faster clean up time.

In recent focus groups in North America and Europe, EasyLife Spray & Up has been widely endorsed by consumers. In fact 95% of them say they were “extremely likely” or “very likely” to use the product.

Also within the building and energy market is the battery separator sector, which continues to grow nicely following the 2012 acquisition of a stake in Porous Power Technologies (PPT), a Colorado-based company developing technology for lithium ion battery separators. In January, PPT launched Symmetrix NC2020, a ceramic battery separator designed to improve thermal stability and safety of large-format lithium ion batteries. The product, which was developed in partnership with Ahlstrom, delivers sizable improvements in all three areas, particularly safety. Applications include batteries for electric vehicles, flat-cell consumer electronics, utility-grade energy storage and other high-power or high-energy applications.

Ahlstrom’s medical business area has declined slightly caused by the slow commercialization of start-up operations. Still, this business has been defending its position in the market by heavily focusing on high performance and smart single-use medical consumables, a strategy that has included the launch of several new products in recent months.

In March, Ahlstrom launched a new medical campaign—Dress for Surgical Excellence—featuring a range of single-use medical consumables for high-risk surgeries, which demand a higher caliber of dress, protecting patients, surgeon, and surgical staff from contaminants. The range includes BVB for impervious AAMI level 4 surgical gowns; Ahlstrom TenderGuard soft SMS for surgical gowns; Ahlstrom TrustShield, an expansive range of repellent and absorbent surgical drapes; and Ahlstrom Reliance sterile barrier systems for wrap, tray liners and over wrap.

The company has also previewed its new dynamic single-use scrub suit fabric, Ahlstrom VaporCool at three exhibitions this spring—AORN, INDEX and Medical World Americas. Ahlstrom VaporCool will be officially launched this fall. The dynamic single-use scrub suit works with the wearers body—when hot it promotes evaporation to give a cooling affect and when cold it holds in moisture to provide warmth.

“We’re continuing to listen to the market and better understand the needs of our customers and our customers’ customers,” says Bethany Schivley, communications officer, medical. “Our high performance medical consumables and smart fabrics will continue to be a priority for us as we push towards 2015.”

New product development is also a core focus in the food business. In February, the company launched Ahlstrom NatureMold, a new sustainable molding material that offers food processors and brand owners many unique benefits. For one, it’s biodegradable, unlike aluminum or PET. It also works great in a variety of temperatures—oven, microwave, fridge, freezer, and even to the table. Another unique feature is the ability for the mold to have patterning and coloring options, allowing brand owners to differentiate their product. For NatureMold, in the short-term, Ahlstrom says it’s focused around patterning and coloring options, in addition to an extended range with other customization options while working throughout the value chain for long-term growth.

Plants: Brignoud, France; Karhula, Finland; Malmedy, Belgium; Mikkeli, Finland; Stalldalen, Sweden; Tver, Russia; Bousbeceque, France; Chirnside, UK; Kauttua, Finland; Longkou, China; Mundra, India; Pont-Audemer, France; Saint Severin, France; Radcliffe, UK; West Carrollton, OH; Windsor Locks, CT; Barcelona, Spain; Bethune, SC; Fabriano, Italy; Binzhou, China; Hyon Poong, Korea; Louveira, Brazil; Madisonville, KY; Mount Holly Springs, PA; Tampere, Finland; Taylorville, IL; Turin, Italy
Processes: Wetlaid (Trinitex), microglass, nanotechnology (Disruptor), composites, creping/micrexing, spunmelt/spunbond, parchmentizing, coating, calendaring
Major Markets: Transportation filtration, diagnostic filtration, water filtration, wall coverings, building, automotive, food packaging, beverage, medical, flooring and masking tape

In recent months, Ahlstrom has continued its strategy of focusing on high performance materials, as first evidenced through the company’s late 2011 sale of its wipes business, including €300 million in total sales, as well the demerger of its label and processing unit in August 2012. The essence of the company’s business, which now operates through four major divisions— Transportation Filtration, Advanced Filtration, Building and Energy and Food and Medical—is to focus on fiber-based materials that protect people, purify air and liquids and provide surface structure to its customers’ products, according to company spokesperson Bethany Schivley. Nonwovens made by Ahlstrom are mainly used in transportation, construction, food and beverage, medical, energy, water and life science markets.

In 2012, sales decreased 1.5% to €1.01 billion ($1.3 billion) due to lower volumes and capacity closures which offset higher selling prices and favorable currency effects. Operating profits also declined due to lower sales volumes, adverse product mixes and increases in market-related downtime in production.

“Higher selling prices and the profit improvement programs implemented at the end of 2011 improved profitability,” says Schivley. “In addition, short-tem cost mitigation, related to maintenance and temporary lay-offs, had a positive effect on profitability.”

Effective January 1, Ahlstrom reorganized its business into the aforementioned four business areas after dividing the company’s former filtration business area into two separate business areas: Transportation Filtration and Advanced Filtration. This has enabled a stronger focus on filtration, along with demerging the label and processing unit and combining it with Munksjo in November 2012.

According to Schivley, transportation filtration is mainly focused on the automotive market while advanced filtration encompasses a broader reach, serving laboratory and life sciences, gas turbine, hydraulic, food and beverage and HVAC. Both areas continue to be strong areas of focus and growth for Ahlstrom and together comprise about 37% of sales, or €352.7 million, up from €324 million, in 2012.

Within the transportation segment, which includes media for automotive engines and other transportation-related applications, this year Ahlstrom launched Captimax, a great technology that combines high efficiency filtration with extremely high dust holding capacity. According to the company, the technology, which uses Eastman Cyphrex microfibers, will open different filter design possibilities for its customers and meet several needs from the automotive industry such as a smaller footprint in the engine compartment, glass fiber formulation and high filtration performance.

“This breakthrough technology is a new platform for Ahlstrom and several other products can be expected soon,” Schivley says.

The technology also gives filter media manufacturers the ability to obtain optimum micron efficiency ratings and dust holding ability by providing a balance of excellent small-particle retention and the potential for longer media life.

Recent highlights of the advanced filtration business include the purchase of Sweden-based Munktell Filter AB in September 2012, a move Ahlstrom sees as a strategic step to grow its advanced filtration business particularly in life science and laboratory applications. The transaction included 100% of the shares in Munktell Filter AB, as well as its holdings in Munktell & Filtrak GmbH, Filtres Fioroni SA and Munktell Inc.

“When we combine Munktell’s strong position in the European advanced filtration market with our solid presence in North America, we will gain access to new markets geographically. Driven by global changes in demographics, life science and laboratory filtration are lucrative growth areas for us,” says Tommi Björnman, former executive vice president, filtration.

Munktell is based in Falun, Sweden and it has production sites in Germany and Sweden, a joint venture in France, as well as a sales office in the U.S. The company’s reported sales are €15 million with an operating profit margin of roughly 15% in 2011.

Also in advanced filtration, Ahlstrom is collaborating with Dow Chemical Company to use its Disruptor technology in drinking water applications. Disruptor is Ahlstrom’s nanoalumina technology designed for a wide range of water filtration applications.

“One of the key goals in our product development is to create products that purify air and liquids in a sustainable way. We are excited about the opportunity to work with Dow since we see a wealth of opportunities for providing pure water solutions through combining our expertise with Dow’s industry-leading product offering,” says Fulvio Capussotti, executive vice president, advanced filtration.

Amidst these efforts, Ahlstrom continues to see capital investment as a growth strategy. While the once steady stream of investments has slowed more recently, Ahlstrom has continued to add capacity within its filtration business. The most recent effort is the addition of capacity in Turin, Italy, which is scheduled to be operational by the third quarter of 2013 and will consist of an upgrade to a paper machine producing filter media for transportation and gas turbine applications.

“This investment is another important step in our growth roadmap, where we are strengthening our platform in Europe. By expanding our filtration operations, we are reinforcing our position as a global supplier in the filtration market with a full offering of filter media,” Björnman says.

Other recent capacity expansions include a new line in Binzhou, China to serve the Chinese market as well as an upgrade to its Louveira, Brazil site.

Ahlstrom’s building and energy business, including products for construction, energy storage and even wall coverings continued to thrive in 2012 while representing 26% of sales.

One market that has consistently been strong within this segment is the global wall covering market, which Schivley says has remained stable mainly due to the global financial situation, political confidence and reduced consumer spending in Europe. In line with this stability, Ahlstrom has made some considerable investment to this segment in recent years including upgrades in Malmedy, Belgium to make the site capable of producing embossed substrates for digital print applications and a new production line in Binzhou, China where the market is expected to reach 300 million rolls by 2015.

“The Chinese wall covering market is changing from one of import to one of domestic production,” Schivley says.

Another increasingly important business area in this segment is battery separators, a market Ahlstrom entered last year through the purchase of a stake in Porous Power Technologies, a Colorado-based company developing technology for lithiumion battery separators. Together with Porous Power, Ahlstrom is offering a new generation of separator solutions for safer batteries and capacitors in electric-drive vehicles, e-bikes, portable electronics and utility-grade storage products.

Ahlstrom’s food and medical business area is benefitting from the addition of a new plant in Longkou, China, dedicated to the manufacture of crepe paper used for masking tape and sterilization pouches for the medical market. Marking Ahlstrom’s third such plant—the other two are in Pont Audemer, France and Kauttua, Finland—the investment proves how important Asia is for all of Ahlstrom, especially the food and medical division.

In April, medical introduced Ahlstrom Reliance Tandem to the market. Ahlstrom Reliance Tandem is an expansion of Ahlstrom’s interleaved SBS portfolio with the introduction of SMS. Adding SMS to offerings that formerly comprised just crepe and wetlaid is allowing the company to offer an optimal combination of sterile barrier system sheets for sequential wrapping.

Ahlstrom’s food packaging and beverages categories are also seen as a high growth area for food and medical. These are areas where consumers want both products and packaging to be more environmentally sensitive but without the expectation of changing how they shop, prepare and cook.

In beverage applications, Ahlstrom is developing products made from PLA (polylactic-acid), an advanced renewable and biodegradable polymer. PLA is already used in Ahlstrom BioWeb teabags and is currently being expanded into coffee capsules for espresso machines.

In food packaging, Ahlstrom has created the sustainable Genuine Vegetable Parchment baking paper, which can be converted into molds replacing molds made of plastic or aluminum. Molds are produced from 100% sustainable and renewable resources and are biodegradable, helping to meet customers’ sustainability requirements.